


In The Shadows - A Different Turn To The Dark Side

by CatiiaSofiia, MissChrisDaae



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Paranormal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27306415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatiiaSofiia/pseuds/CatiiaSofiia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissChrisDaae/pseuds/MissChrisDaae
Summary: After a should-be fatal car crash, Anakin Skywalker wakes up to discover that 1) his girlfriend, Padmé Amidala, is actually a vampire, 2) she's just turned him into one to save him from death, and 3) nothing in his life is what he thought it was. It's a hell of an adjustment period, and while his life might have been saved, the state of his relationship with Padmé is another matter entirely.Continued from Anidala Flufftober 2020.
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Saché/Yané (Star Wars)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 89





	1. The First Day of the Rest of Your Un-life

“Anakin? Anakin, can you hear me?”

A small groan left his lips and as he tried to move, his body was… stiff. Different. He felt like pins and needles were being stuck to his skin with every movement and whatever light was in the room was hurting his eyes and he hadn’t even opened them. His throat burned, his ears rang and he felt a rush of emotions and unclear thoughts and he wondered just what the hell happened to him. A cool hand rested on his shoulder.

“Baby, do you remember the car crash?”

“What?” His throat was dry and itchy and he tried to move but hissed and the sound was different. And were his teeth bigger? He could feel them at his lower lip. The lights dimmed slightly and the face of his girlfriend came into view.

“The car crash,” she repeated. “We went off the road and hit a tree, you were bleeding.”

Flashing moments ran across his head and he shook it, trying to get them to clear out. “Barely. Are we in the hospital?” He asked in a raspy whisper. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she promised, moving to take his hand and squeeze it. “But the ambulances were taking so long, and you were losing so much blood… Ani, I’m sorry.”

He blinked at her and as his vision was clearing up, he could tell something was different. “What? Did we both die? Is this heaven and if it is, why do I feel like crap?” He tried a joke to light up her mood. She was so sober, so worried. “Baby? What is it?”

“Ani, I died a long time ago.”

“You have a concussion,” he frowned.

“I did what I had to do to save you. And in doing so, I damned you to the same life I’ve lived for the last five hundred years.” She opened her mouth and her canine teeth extended downwards into beautifully, deadly sharp points. “I turned you.”

Anakin gaped at her and then laughed, shaking his head. “Very funny. We’re no longer doing reruns of Twilight. Now, in all seriousness, are we in a clinic? And if so, can I get water or something? It’s cool, baby, I’m already up and sobered, no need to test my brain.”

“We’re in the closest bread and breakfast I could find from the crash site. I compelled the police and the hospital staff to protect you from being taken to a hospital, and brought you here to let you finish turning.”

He frowned as he paid attention to her serious features. Looking around, they were in a picturesque room, the curtains were drawn but he heard the birds chirping outside and he racked his brain for coherent memories. He remembered a deer jumping into their path on the pitch-black road, he remembered screams and intense, awful pain, but she didn’t make sense. “What… you are not making sense… we had an accident. We need medical attention,” he looked down at himself and saw that there were no bruises, no scratches. Nothing at all scarred his smooth skin. Even old scars were gone. “What?” He whispered. 

“I work in night court,” she pointed out slowly. “And yet I have a townhouse that is far above the paygrade for such a career path. We’ve only ever had dinner together, never lunch, or coffee.”

He sat up fully and pushed himself back until he hit the headboard. “Next thing you’re telling me is that you sparkle,” he huffed.

“I know that sarcasm is your primary coping mechanism, Anakin, but if you could refrain from further references to the bizarre and often offensive fantasies of a repressed Mormon housewife, that would be appreciated,” Padmé replied with a hiss as she moved to a window. “Would you like to see what happens to me in the sunlight?” She pulled aside the curtains, and the sound of sizzling and the scent of flames filled the room, coming straight from her fingertips.

Anakin stared horrified and then shook his head and a hand came up to scratch at his neck as he winced. “This is a nightmare. I am in a coma. I am in a coma and having a nightmare,” he muttered to himself.

She closed the curtain and covered her hand as she walked back to him. When she reached him, the skin of her fingers was blackened and bubbling, but the bubbles were growing smaller, the black receding into the pale skin he’d always known.

“This isn’t real,” he gritted his teeth and felt his pointy canines.  _ What the heck?  _ “You’re not real. This is a freaky coma-induced nightmare.”

“I can bite you again if that would make you believe,” she snapped. He flinched away from her, and she sighed, closing her eyes. “I didn’t want you to find out this way. I didn’t want you to find out at all, but you were  _ dying _ , Anakin. I could hear your heartbeat slowing.”

“You should have taken your chances and waited for the ambulance,” he hissed as he stumbled out of bed.

“If I had, I would have lost you. And I could not allow that.”

“People die. It’s a natural part of life. Car crash or old age, you always  _ die,  _ it’s the  _ natural  _ thing to do,” he grunted as he blindly felt for the bathroom door. “You don’t just… take that away,” he waved his hand around, half-crazed.

“Yes, I can,” she said hollowly. “It was taken from me.”

“And so you did the same to me?” He narrowed his eyes at her. Tears began to fill her brown eyes.

“The creature who turned me did so for power, to use me. I turned you to save you. Because I love you too much to picture a world without you, or picture living in it. I can  _ help _ you through this, Ani. You won’t have to go through what I did, I can bring you into the shadows slowly, help you adjust until it feels normal.”

He shook his head as he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Turning on the lights, he winced. The brightness was a bit too much for him. He fought through the discomfort in order to stare at himself in the mirror. His eyes were the same blue, maybe a shade darker and his face was clean of imperfections. His skin was smoother, lighter, and everything that scarred his body, that made up his life’s history, was gone, replaced by perfect, smooth skin. He lifted his lower lip and winced at the sharp canines that stared back at him and he understood that the itch on the back of his throat wasn’t hunger, was thirst. 

Squeezing the sides of the sink, he felt the ceramic crack under the pressure and he pulled his hands away.

He couldn’t forget. He was a vampire now.

_ Vampire.  _ His stomach did a flip. What about his mom? Ahsoka? Ben? Everyone that he loved? His friends and family?

Also, how in the world didn’t he notice anything off with Padmé? They have been seeing each other for nearly _two_ _years!_ Was he so blind that he didn’t see the red flags all around her flawless beauty and cleverness?

“I know,” she said from behind him. He was still the only figure in the mirror. 

He turned around startled. “No mirror image?” He hissed. “You apparently know a lot more things than your average person,” he scoffed at her words.

“I know what you’re going through, and no, no mirror image,” she confirmed. “A mirror is a reflection of the soul, and mine’s long gone.”

_ And mine will be erased with time _ , he concluded. “How did I miss all of this about you?  _ How?  _ For two years we’ve been together and you’ve been lying to me all along!” Anakin snapped. He remembered her earlier words. “Did you… did you compel me too? To let these elephants leave the room?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Compulsions… they only work on the weak-minded. And you’re anything but weak-minded.” She reached out her now-healed hand and pressed her fingers gently against the two small puncture marks on his neck, the only scar left.

“You made me live a lie for the past two years then do… this,” he waved at himself. 

“I didn’t  _ plan _ this, Anakin, and it was more like selective omissions than active lying. You were the one who pursued  _ me. _ ”

“You could have turned me away or something! Anything!” He shouted. “When would you tell me the truth? When you accidentally bite me? When I started growing old and you didn’t? When I spoke about kids and you had to say ‘Oh, honey, I’ve been dead for five hundred years, how do you feel about adopting?’”

“I wasn’t,” she said quietly. “I  _ was _ planning to leave in a year, suggest long-distance, and let myself slowly fade from your heart without having to tell you.”

“Fantastic job,” he said dryly, returning to the bedroom and sitting on the bed, head in his hands. “What am I going to do now?” He groaned. “My job, my friends…  _ my mom. _ ”

“We’ll figure it out,” she promised weakly, still standing in the bathroom doorway. “I’ve been living in the shadows for a long time, I can help you—”

“What do you eat? What do  _ I  _ eat now?” He growled. She sighed, and moved past him to open her suitcase, pulling out a refrigerated bag.

“Have a juice box,” she said dryly, holding out an unmistakable packet of red liquid.

Anakin frowned and looked from the obvious blood bag to his girlfriend’s face. He debated with himself as the itch grew stronger and what should have been a disgusting liquid that always made him gag, was suddenly too appealing. He shook his head. “No, thank you.”

“It’s as ethically sourced as possible, Anakin, if you don’t drink this, we run the risk of you tearing out the housekeeper’s throat when he or she comes by on their rounds.”

“I’m  _ good. _ ” He gritted his teeth.

“You need to drink.”

He snorted. “Make me.”

She glared and zipped up the refrigerated bag, stuffing it back in her suitcase before she opened her mouth. Her canines extended again and she bit into the packet, sucking it dry in one continuous swallow. Not a drop spilled as she did so and she crumpled the empty plastic pouch into a ball, tossing it effortlessly into the trash.

“Makes me regret all those fancy dinners I paid for over the past two years. You don’t even taste the food, do you?” Anakin muttered, half-annoyed and half-turning away from her.

“I paid for some of those dinners too, Anakin, and actually, yes, I do taste them. A rare steak is particularly delicious. The food just doesn’t hold nutritional value for me, it dissolves in my stomach without needing to be processed further.”

He sighed. “What else?” Anakin asked flatly.

“As you see, we can be awake during the day, it’s just a matter of not letting sunlight touch us. Silver burns us. Garlic doesn’t actually hurt, our noses are just more sensitive than humans’ are. We don’t need coffins,” she listed. “And a stake through the heart is deadly, but that’s true for everyone. Regardless of species.”

Anakin nodded along her words and after a few minutes of silence, he dropped his shoulders. “Right,” he said slowly. “What now?”

“We’ll call your mother and tell her you’re alright,” she said softly. “But you’ll need to feed before you see her, Anakin, or you’ll be putting her at risk.”

“So I’m going to spend the rest of my life hiding in the darkness?” He asked with a strain to his voice. “I can’t go back to my day job. I can’t go back living my normal life, not when… when I’m this. When I could put everyone I love at stake.”

“Maybe.”

“That’s all you have to say?” He laughed hollowly. “ _ Maybe? _ ”

“Anakin, I’ve spent most of my immortality trying to find a way to undo it, and I might have failed on that count, but I have learned to live with it. And clearly I am very good at it, considering that you never noticed.”

“Or I’m just that stupid. I thought the lack of mirrors was a curious and quirky superstition. The lack of daytime activities didn’t bother me. I just… God, I was an idiot. Wait, am I still allowed to believe in God? Will I burn to ash if I enter a church?”

“It’s any sacred ground, and yes, but it won’t be immediate.” She turned away with a sigh. “It’s easier to avoid now than it was in sixteenth-century Europe.”

Anakin groaned and crawled up the bed, to stick his head under the pillow. “You should have let me bleed out,” he said, muffled by the fabric.

“No, I shouldn’t have,” she said stubbornly. “You’re just in shock and having difficulty processing this.”

He let out another long groan of frustration and placed another pillow on top of his head. “Just leave me alone,” he asked miserably.

“I’ll leave you to sleep.” She disappeared into mist.

Anakin pulled his head back and looked around the room, making sure he was alone. He was angry. He was upset. He was sad and bewildered. But stronger than that was that he was hungry. With a resigned sigh, he opened her suitcase and grabbed one of the blood bags from the refrigerated bag inside. He grimaced. The idea of sticking his canines into it was unappealing, so he dug around her suitcase until he found a grey water bottle. He took the lid off and threw the water away, replacing it for the thick blood from the bag. 

_ Just like drinking water. Or milk. Or juice. Just think happy, normal food.  _

He sat on the ground and drank as he reeled. What was his life going to be like now? On the nightstand, his phone vibrated and played Ahsoka’s ringtone. With shaky fingers he grabbed the phone and answered it.

“H-Hey, Snips.”

“Hey, I thought you and Padmé were coming back today from your weekend getaway, what happened?”

“Oh, we… w-we ran into some car trouble and…” he swallowed, “and decided to spend another day or two to get it fixed.”

“Are you both okay? Do you need someone to come get you?”

“Oh, we’re peachy,” he said, dryly and sipped his  _ drink  _ again. “No, we’ll figure it out.”

“You sure? It’s no trouble, I don’t have classes today.”

“No, Ahsoka, I’m sure. I’ll call you once I’m back in town and we’ll meet for coffee or dinner, whatever’s easier,” he sighed, knowing he could no longer move around as he once did, unless he wanted to be burnt bacon on the side of the road.

“Okay, if you say so. But more importantly, did you ask her?”

_ Fuck.  _ With all the vampire stuff, he completely forgot the reason for this getaway. “No. I didn’t. I was wrong, Snips, I might be rushing into this,” and the ring is probably in the woods somewhere.  _ Oh well, there goes a year’s salary to the wildlife _ . “It’s not the right time.”

“What happened to ‘she’s part of my soul, the thought of not being with her makes my stomach turn over, my mouth goes dry, I get dizzy, I can’t breathe,’” Ahsoka put on a bad impression of his voice.

“Maybe I was just constipated,” he quipped. 

“Nah, I know what you sound like when you’re constipated.”

“Ahsoka, really, it’s not the best time. I was wrong. I was rushing into this headfirst. It’s… it’s wrong,” he shook his head and drank the last of his blood. In his frustration, he reached into the suitcase and grabbed another one and dipped it into the bottle.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Did you hit your head or something?”

“Never felt so invincible,” he deadpanned.

“Okay, fine, weirdo,” she huffed. “I gotta go, Ezra’s trying to call me.”

He sighed. Wishing he could tell her. “I love you, Snips, you know that, right? You’re my baby sister.”

“Yeah, love you too,” she said distractedly.

He hung up and sighed, letting his head fall against the mattress. He had to make some life-changing decisions. He could not endanger her or his mom. Or anyone he cared about.

When Padmé finally reappeared, it was nighttime. “I had the mechanic who was working on your car bring it,” she explained. “It’s in the parking lot.”

“Okay, thanks,” he nodded, standing by the window.

“Anakin.” She moved over to stand next to him and placed something on the windowsill between the two of them. The red velvet box with the gold solitaire diamond engagement ring he’d had in his jacket pocket the night of the crash. “That’s why,” she said softly. He just stared at the ring as if it had offended him and his entire bloodline. A part of him had hoped it had gotten lost or that the same deer that caused him to lose his life had eaten it. ”It fell out of your pocket while I was trying to keep you alive, waiting for the ambulance. When I saw it… that’s when I chose to turn you.”

“Damn, screwed over by a diamond, who knew?” He shut the lid of the box so the offending jewelry wasn’t looking at him.

“You wanted to marry me. You wanted us to have a life together.”

He snorted. “Yeah, but I clearly wasn’t aware of what  _ really  _ was your life, now was I? All I’ve witnessed was a facade.”

“I’m not looking for your forgiveness, Anakin, I was just trying to explain. What I did was out of love. And I know it wasn’t how something like this  _ should _ happen, but I just didn’t want to lose you. Not to death, and not to breaking your heart by ending things.”

Anakin sighed, and grabbed the small box. He aimed at his open suitcase, since he had taken the chance to change clothes, and threw it over the air. The velvet bounced off his jeans. “I appreciate the sentiment, I’m just wrapping my head around it, okay?”

“Okay, but we don’t have a lot of time before we have to get back home.”

“I know. It will do. I decided I can’t stay there anymore. I won’t endanger my loved ones,” he said.

“If you let me teach you, that won’t be a problem,” she promised. “I know how smart you are, and you have someone who actually wants to help you learn and thrive in this life.”

“Thrive? You’re kidding, right? Thriving will be not murdering anyone for their blood,” he scoffed. “I can’t go back to my normal life and if this hasn’t happened and I have to think of others around me.”

“I haven’t murdered anyone in centuries, you’re being melodramatic,” she scoffed. “I get my blood from a bank now.”

“I guess we’ll drive through the night,” he stood. “I already told my mother I would have dinner tomorrow night. I’ll see about changing shifts at work.” Fortunately, programming was a very flexible job.

“You’re still taking this well, I see” she observed dryly.

“Oh? Am I missing the confetti cannon?” He zipped his suitcase, the ring box nestled around his clothes. 

“For fuck’s sake, will you stop being a child about this and lose the attitude?” Padmé hissed, her voice seeming to reverberate off every surface in the room.

“Check on me in a hundred years or so. I should be older and wiser by then,” he quipped as he headed to the door. “I’m checking out and you have the car keys.”

She tossed the keys straight at his head. “ _ I’ll _ check us out.  _ You _ get the car.”

With the quickest reflexes he ever had, he grabbed the keys. “Nope,” he shrugged. “I have PTSD now,” he threw the keys on the bed.

“Well, I can’t drive, so it has to be you.”

“No time to learn like the present. If we crash, we won’t die. Isn’t that wonderful?” His voice drifted from the empty hallways as he left the bedroom and started downstairs to the reception desk. Padmé stormed after him with her own bag in one hand and the keys in the other.

“Anakin Skywalker, you do not get to walk away from me like this! Now you stop and listen to me!”

For some unknown reason, he froze. He wanted to move, but found his brain was not cooperating. He wanted to bite back with a sarcastic remark, but his mouth wouldn’t move.  _ Obey her.  _ An odd feeling lingered and took over his thoughts and he shuddered. What was this?  _ She made you. She owns you.  _ How much weirder could this vampire crap get?

Padmé stopped short. Given what had happened with her own sire, she’d forgotten about this part. “Anakin… I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong and you have every right to be angry, but acting like this… it’s not going to help either of us. I’m trying to do what I can to make this right.”

He shook his head numbly and grabbed the keys from her fingers. “You should have let me bleed out,” he said very, very quietly. “I’ll wait at the car,” he gripped the handle of his suitcase as he turned directions, heading for the front door as she had asked earlier. Padmé pursed her lips and went to go check out at the front desk.

“Trouble in paradise, dear?” The elderly woman asked, sympathy in her eyes as she lowered her book.

“There’s never been paradise,” Padmé muttered, more to herself than to the woman, “not for me.”

“Well, child, it’s nothing a good talk and romp in the sheets doesn’t fix,” the woman said with a small grin. “You are both young, you’ll have plenty of time to argue and then even more to be happy,” she patted Padmé’s hand in sympathy. Padmé fought the urge to roll her eyes.  _ I’ve lived five of your lifetimes, old bat. Probably more. _

“I’m not sure if I can fix this with fucking,” she said, just to scandalize the clerk with her language.

The woman looked unfazed as she shrugged. “Probably not. But it’s just as fun,” she retrieved the room keys. “Come back any time.”

“Doubtful.” Padmé tossed a few bills at her, then headed outside.

Anakin waited in the car, scowling, as he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. Maybe there were more suicidal deers along the roads. Maybe one of them would ram an antler through his chest and accidentally puncture his heart. He just needed to hit it at the right angle…

“I see you’re at that point already.”

“What point?” He started the ignition and the car purred to life.

“The point where you want to end your existence as you go through the stages of grief,” she answered, sitting in the passenger seat. “I had it after Sheev turned me.”

He shrugged. “Wistful thinking, only.”

“Maybe I  _ should _ drive.”

“Maybe you  _ should  _ be quiet.” He mimicked her tone as he raced down the road. “I need to figure out what to do next.”

“I could  _ help _ ,” she huffed.

“Tell me, oh wise one, we have nothing but time until we get to the city.”

“I can get you blood from my supplier. And the guy who did the sunproofing measures on my townhouse. I’ll pay for all of it.”

“I’ll appreciate the contacts, but I have money of my own,” he said flatly. 

“Anakin, this is going to be an expensive endeavor, you shouldn’t have to go broke because of what I did.”

He opened his mouth and was about to say something that could be really cruel on his side relating to a certain diamond stuffed in his suitcase, when he thought against it. “Whatever. Okay, I guess.”

“And you should stay at my place for a few days anyway. So I can train you properly.”

“Table manners for liquid meals? How to dress like a vampire 101?” He taunted.

“Controlling your strength, speed, and senses, managing your cravings, and coping in a world that’s no longer made for you,” she corrected with a sigh.

“Sounds fun, I’ll buy some notebooks,” he quipped. “Or is there a manual I can read? I ordered this thing from Amazon that highlights certain sentences and directly passes it to your computer or phone and I could make some dope notes from it.”

“Shut up,” she growled. With a frown, he automatically obeyed. “And take this seriously. Or do you want me bringing you back to your mother either as a corpse or a pile of ashes?” He shrugged, nostrils flaring. “Look, I’m sorry, I don’t know how to stop using my position as your sire. I’ve never made a fledgling before. I was supposed to, but that was a long time ago, and—” she stopped, realizing that a trip down memory lane was not going to be helpful right now.

“I’m flattered,” he nodded. “I’ll do whatever you want, just tell me the most essential thing so I can have dinner tomorrow night with my mom.”

“We’ll need to stop and give you more to drink. This is the thirstiest you’re ever going to be, assuming you form the kind of habits I have now.”

“Fine. Stock up on blood. Got it.”

“And…” she twisted her fingers around themselves. “Hold on. To the love you feel for her. Make it your anchor. It’ll keep you grounded.”

Anakin paused for a moment. “That should be easy enough,” he said in a whisper.

“You have so many people who love you,” she agreed. “And so much love you give them back in return. It’s why I believe you can do this.”

_ Yet, I am a danger to all of them now. One slip-up and it’s over.  _ “Let’s hope so.”

“If worse comes to worst,” she sighed, “I’ll do what I can to keep them safe from us.”

“You’re not turning them,” he said, his tone rising. “I’ll die before that happens.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Good,” he sighed. They drove in silence for a while before she spoke again.

“You did want it though, didn’t you? Before I ruined everything? You wanted to marry me and have babies and a life together?”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “Yes. I did. I wanted all of that,” he admitted. “But, I didn’t know the real you, did I? I fell in love with the idea of someone and not with the reality of who you are.”

“I suppose it’s up to you what the real me actually means,” Padmé conceded. “I did conceal my species and my diet and my real date of birth from you, but everything else is true. I really am a night court lawyer, I really do give to a lot of charities, and love romantic comedies. I did have a family that I lost a long time ago in a home invasion, and had to grow up alone. And the longer I knew you, the more I hated keeping the secret from you, but I just...”

“You just let me believe that I could have what I always wanted with you. I wasn’t shy about speaking about building a life together, having kids, and growing old, and instead of doing something, you let me believe we could have that,” he pointed out, numbly.

“I know, and it was selfish of me, but I knew that if I shut you down, I’d be that much closer to losing you forever. And for me, forever is literal and it is long.”

“If I had proposed, what would you have said?”

“I don’t know anymore. Maybe I would have just said no and disappeared. Or said yes and then staged my death to give us a clean break. I might have even told you the truth about me.”

Anakin sighed and focused on the road. Whatever option she had chosen, it would have had a bad fallout for either of them. “There was no good option.”

“No, there wasn’t. We would have been over.”

He shook his head, not really believing his luck. They would have been over, yes, and he would have never recovered from her death or her disappearance. That’s how much he knew he loved her. And he couldn’t tell if his feelings had changed or if it was the overwhelming fear of the unknown that was pushing everything down.

“I’m sorry. You’re right, I never should have agreed to go out with you, but I thought maybe if I just said yes once and the date went really badly, that would be it. And then it wasn’t.”

Anakin tilted his head. “Is that why you were doing everything to  _ make it  _ go wrong?”

She couldn’t help laughing weakly. “Was it that obvious?”

“Yes,” he answered bluntly. “All the faux pas that you could do on a first date, you did.”

“So why did you still want a second date?”

He shrugged. “I found it adorable that you were trying that hard to make me leave. I mean, at first, I genuinely thought you were crazy, but I realized that you were doing it on purpose. The harder you tried to make me want to leave you, the harder I realized I needed to laugh it off and… stay.”

“You know that could be called harassment in a court of law. Or stalking.”

“You just turned me into a vampire, robbed me of my humanity  _ and  _ soul, what is the legal term for that?” He said dryly.

“Fair enough.”

“I thought so,” he muttered.

“Ani, it’s going to be okay.”

He rolled his eyes. “So you keep saying. Was it ever  _ okay  _ for you after you were turned?”

“I was turned after my family died and I was passed into the guardianship of my future sire. He had several other young women in his keeping, all my age, all wealthy and orphaned. We had each other to get through our transitions, and his plans for us.”

“You didn’t answer my question. And honestly, you don’t have to. I’ll eventually come to terms with this. Glad I have eternity now.”

“Look, your definition of ‘okay’ is different from mine. I learned how to cope. I learned how to change with the times. I learned how to be content with my existence. That’s my ‘okay.’”

He just sighed and distracted himself with driving. It was the most normal thing he’d done for the past twenty-four hours. Padmé turned on the radio and let it play without speaking another word for the rest of the drive. When they arrived at her townhouse, she got out of the car first and grabbed both their bags from the trunk.

“I can take those,” he said, following after her.

“I’ve got it.” she insisted as the building door opened without a single touch. “Let’s just get inside, moonlight’s wasting.”

“Right,” he headed after her, looking around. He had been to her house before but it felt like the first time. Now he knew it was her vampire lair. He snorted at himself at that thought. 

“Is something funny?” she asked curtly as they went inside and she dropped the bags in the foyer. 

He shook his head, a sarcastic grin on his lips. “Nope.” Now that he knew the truth, he found the lack of mirrors even more distracting. He wondered how long his own soul would take to waste away and when his image would truly fade.

“Then come into the kitchen with me.” Anakin followed her, looking at everything with a brand new perspective. Her kitchen looked completely new, barely used. Not a scratch on those surfaces, or appliances. She opened the fridge and pulled out a large, dark wine bottle and a two-pack of steaks. “Can you please get a pan from that lower drawer?” she requested. He did as he was told, handing her the pan and watching her every move. 

She put it on the front burner of the stove and placed both steaks on it, turning the heat to low, then opened an upper cabinet and retrieved two red wine glasses. As she uncorked the bottle, a smell that was growing increasingly familiar to Anakin filled the room. “I don’t usually go with O negative, but tonight is not most nights,” she said as she filled the glasses and held one out to him.

“Thanks,” he accepted the glass and stared down at the liquid.  _ This is my life now. _

“Anything for you,” she said quietly.

“Literally anything,” Anakin sighed and sipped his ‘wine.’

“I’m sorry.”

He nodded in acceptance and sat down. “Are you?” He raised one eyebrow.

“I’m sorry about how I did it. I’m sorry that you found out the way you did, and for keeping secrets from you. I’m sorry for causing you pain.”

“I know all of that,” he said, more softly than what she probably expected. “But are you sorry for making me like you?”

“I don’t know anymore,” she confessed. “At that moment, no, I wasn’t. I told myself I was saving you. But I’m remembering now how difficult it is in the first days, and how I took away your choice just like  _ he _ took mine, and…” She took a long drink from her own glass. “You wouldn’t have wanted it if I’d offered, would you?” Her voice was small and scared.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I really don’t, because there are so many things to consider and… I can’t tell you no or yes, because… I simply don’t know. I’m sorry.”

She bit her lip and turned away, getting out two plates and moving the steaks onto them. “You can have both if you want, your body will still process it in this early stage.”

“I’m okay with just one,” he said quietly.

“Alright.” She got out two forks and two steak knives and placed them on the side of her kitchen island with the barstools.

“They look good,” he complimented. “You’ve never cooked for me before.”

“This is the one thing I know how to cook,” she explained. “I figured you’d put it together if I were  _ that _ redundant.”

“Yes, because I would immediately think that you would be a vampire if you had cooked rare steaks for us,” he rolled his eyes.

“If I did it once, you’d want to come over again. And again,” she argued with a huff. “And you think this looks good now because your palate is changing, but if I’d served this to a regular human, they’d think I was trying to poison them.”

“I would have kept thinking you didn’t know how to cook to save your life and probably end up doing something myself.”

“And then you’d wonder why I only had steak and wine in my fridge, and realize that it’s  _ not _ wine.”

“I’m not that smart,” he said dryly and sipped his blood as he dug into the steak.

“You went to MIT.”

“MIT. Not paranormal academy.”

“Oh, I got a degree there, you’d have hated it,” she joked. “The professor was a total monster.”

He stared at her and blinked. “What?” He asked faintly. “You’re serious?”

“No, of course not. I have degrees from basically every university that offers night classes, but there’s no paranormal academy.”

“Ah, okay,” he shook his head. “Are werewolves real? Witches too?” He frowned. “Fairies? What’s real anymore and what’s a fairytale?”

“Witches, yes, fairies, no, werewolves, I don’t think so. At least I’ve never met one. There are some vampires that can take a wolf form, but they can do it whenever they want, not just at a full moon. Zombies, also not a thing. Neither is Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, or the Phantom of the Opera. But there  _ are _ ghosts. That’s about the extent of the supernatural as far as I know. Vampires, witches, and ghosts.” 

“The world just got a whole lot creepier.”

“Ghosts and witches are more annoying than creepy.”

“No, no, it’s creepy. 

“They’re really not, I’ll introduce you to a few.”

He grimaced. “Maybe not right away.”

“Of course not right away. You’re still a fledgling.”

Anakin sulked. “Right. I’m at zero years of being a vampire.”

“It goes by quickly, if that helps.”

He finished his steak and stood. “I’m going to bed. I need to mentally prepare myself for dinner tonight.”

“You can use my bedroom,” she offered. “Or the guest room. Both are sun-proofed.”

Anakin shrugged, setting the glass in the sink. “I like your mattress,” he muttered as he headed towards her bedroom. He was annoyed with her. Angry even. Disappointed. Sad. Frustrated. He was a lot of things, but deep down, he was still in love with her and that was something he would have to figure out with time now.

“Sleep well,” she called softly after him.


	2. Re-Meet the Parents

“Careful of your mouth, Anakin,” Padmé coached softly. “Your fangs are slipping.”

Anakin made a face as he adjusted his lips, his tongue running over his teeth. He had been quiet throughout the day as the weekend’s accident registered in his brain. He had listened to Padmé’s phone conversations about sun-proofing his house and some of her explanations on how to behave normally at dinner.

In true momma's boy fashion, Anakin wanted to curl up next to Shmi and just ask her to take his troubles away, like when he was a boy and he thought demons lived inside his closet. However, this was different and while he was scared to death, or whatever death was these days, that he would hurt his mother, he was more desperate to see her than anything else.

“You can do this,” she reassured him gently. “You’ve been doing really well, I believe in you.”

“You’re right. I haven’t killed anyone,” he said, dryly. “Yet.”

“And if you keep it up, you never will,” Padmé said as she leaned in to inspect his mouth. “Okay, good, just like that.”

Sighing, he climbed the few steps to the door of his mother’s house and knocked. With his improved hearing, he heard her move about inside the house and her heartbeat getting closer. He shifted, uncomfortable, jaw twitching. The door opened moments later and his mom’s beaming smile came into view.

He was in her arms a second later, wrapping her in a gentle hug. “I missed you.”

“Oh, Ani.” Shmi smiled hesitantly, as she hugged her son back. As she held him, her eyes hardened as she glanced between the golden locks of her son’s hair and the woman behind him. Eyes dropping to the empty ring finger in Padmé’s hand, Shmi understood Ahsoka’s freak out on the phone earlier. Clearing her throat, she pulled away and smiled at him, cradling his pale face in her hands. “Come inside, sweetheart. It’s freezing outside.” Then, in a tone that was almost as cold as the temperature, she added, “Padmé, you come in too.”

Padmé followed the mother and son inside nervously. Shmi had always been kind to her, but hesitant. In a way, she’d always felt the older woman didn’t completely accept the relationship she had with Anakin, yet was not opposed to it either. Now, it seemed that was gone.

“How was the weekend?” She asked as she took her son’s hand and had him sit on the couch. Discreetly, she fussed over him, pushing his hair back, adjusting his collar, and rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re too tense, Ani,” she frowned.

“It was eventful and I’m just cold,” he shrugged, beaming up at her with a closed-lip smile. He wouldn’t dare to grin or smile widely. His fangs were too obvious and this was his mother, she knew his teeth. She had paid for all his baby ones, after all, going so far to dress herself as the Tooth Fairy once.

“Padmé, turn up the heat, will you?” Shmi requested, her tone clipped as she continued to sit beside Anakin. Padmé moved to the thermostat and awkwardly turned the dial up a few notches.

“Dinner smells lovely,” she said diplomatically.

“Yes, I made Anakin’s favorite,” Shmi said, as she stared into Anakin’s dark blue eyes. “Because I love you so much, my sweet boy.”

“Thank you, Mom,” he said, softly. “I’m sure it’s delicious as always.”

“What on earth happened this weekend that has you so gloomy?” she chided.

“Nothing, I’m just tired from the trip and we had some car troubles while we were there,” Anakin dismissed her worries with a shrug.

“Padmé,” Shmi said, giving her son’s girlfriend a side-eye with a strict smile on her face. “Could you be a dear and grab our appetizers? They’re in the kitchen, by the stove and so is the wine. I think we’re all needing a glass before dinner.”

“Of course,” Padmé nodded, moving awkwardly out of the living room. “In here, or the dining room?”

“No, here is fine,” Shmi nodded and waited for the young woman to leave, before sighing and turning to Anakin, cupping his cheek. “You didn’t propose. What happened?”

Anakin took the dark-blue velvet box from his inside pocket. “It was not the time. I was rushing into a serious commitment blindly,” he handed it to his mother. “Keep it. I really don’t know what to do with it anymore.”

“Blindly?” Shmi echoed. “You didn’t think this was a blind commitment when I helped you pick out that ring.”

“Yeah, well…” Anakin paused and shook his head, “some recent developments came to light and I didn’t feel comfortable asking the questions,” he said. “We need more time.  _ I  _ need much more time.”

Padmé returned balancing three plates, three glasses, and a wine bottle in her hands with the grace and dexterity that Anakin now knew was derived from her vampiric gifts, and set them down on the coffee table. 

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who noticed her way with gravity. “How graceful of you, waitress in another life, dear?” Shmi asked, placing the box in the pocket of her dress.

“Law school does not pay for itself,” Padmé replied calmly, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Honey, have some spring rolls, I did them the way you like them,” Shmi nudged Anakin as she grabbed the wine bottle. Anakin grabbed a napkin and placed three spring rolls in it, carefully nibbling one. His shoulders dropped as it tasted like… nothing. “Padmé, how did you enjoy Vermont? Anakin’s father and I would go there regularly after we were married,” she said as she grabbed a few crab cakes.

“It was beautiful,” Padmé answered as she sat down and took a few dumplings. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“The bed and breakfast I recommended treated you guys well?”

“They were amazing,” Anakin nodded as he started a second spring roll.

“Charming staff, beautiful views, the stay itself was lovely. The drive back was a little more eventful than we were hoping.”

“You did extend your trip for another day. Anything in particular happened?” Shmi glanced from one to the other. Anakin was particularly interested by the inside of the spring roll, a look of guilt on his face.

“A deer jumped into the road, Ani swerved to avoid it, the car went off the road and we crashed,” Padmé said, “into a tree.”

“A little more than car trouble,” she said, standing up straighter. “Wasn’t it, Ani?”

Her son just lifted his shoulders and shrugged. “We’re here, aren’t we? The deer is surely on his way to Bambi, so we’re all fine and peachy.”

“We had to stay at another bed and breakfast while the car got fixed,” Padmé explained. “That’s why we were late.”

“A pity that you had to miss visiting Lake Willoughby,” Shmi said. “It’s where Ani said you two were going before you came home.”

Anakin shot his mother a glare before stuffing an entire spring roll on his mouth.

“We’ll take a rain check.”

“A very long one,” Anakin added under his breath.

Shmi chewed the inside of her cheek, thoughtful, before finishing her entree and standing. “I’ll go check on dinner, to see if we can move to the dining room,” she said and kissed her son in the forehead as she left for the kitchen. Padmé picked at her nails nervously.

“I loved spring rolls,” he mumbled, annoyed as he eyed the appetizers with longing. “And I’m never tasting lasagna again.”

“How many more times can I apologize?” she asked him bitterly.

“I’m not asking you to apologize, I’m just realizing things out loud,” he scowled. “You didn’t have to come tonight.”

“I wanted to be here for moral support.”

“Or to make sure I don’t make anyone my dinner?”

“ _ Anakin.” _

Anakin glared at her for one second before standing up. “I’m going to see if my mom needs help,” he said as he headed for the kitchen. Shmi was cutting into the lasagna, moving pieces onto plates, and humming softly. “You love me, right? No matter what?” He asked, leaning against the kitchen’s island.

“Honey, that’s what being a mom is all about. There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.” Shmi put down her spatula with a frown as she turned to look at him. “Do you think I’m mad at you for not proposing to her?”

“Honestly, you sound like you’re mad at her,” Anakin frowned. “Last time I saw you acting this coldly to someone was when Grandfather suggested you send me to boarding school after Dad died.”

“I take your future seriously, that’s all.”

“I’m asking if I change or I am not the same anymore, or whatever the hell happens, that you’ll always love me. Like, if I don’t give you grandchildren. Just a cat or two. Scratch that, it has to be a dog, I’m not a cat person, I forgot that. Or if I suddenly change my favorite foods, or decide to live abroad, work from home and other changes,” he rambled, circling the island.

Shmi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Ani… Will you take these into the dining room and then tell Padmé to come in here?”

He looked like a kicked puppy as he nodded and grabbed the plates. As he entered the dining room and placed them on the table, he poked his head into the living room. “My mom wants to see you in the kitchen,” he said before disappearing again.

Padmé nodded and got up, moving past him as she headed into the kitchen. “Shmi, you wanted to talk—” A hand struck her across the face with seemingly inhuman speed. So fast that Padmé’s instincts had missed it coming altogether. She raised a hand to the stinging spot on her cheek in shock.

“How could you do that to him?” Shmi hissed, her light hazel eyes turned into a complete black. “He’s miserable!” She stated, every muscle in her body was tense and she radiated fury. “I let you two date because he was incredibly infatuated with you and at first, I was scared, I mean, I was crazy to let him date a  _ vampire  _ of all creatures, but I guess he just needed to lose interested and I could never tell him no, and if I did, he could push me away,” she explained, moving around the kitchen, tidying up with a little more strength than was necessary. “As I realized you didn’t mean to hurt him or make him your supper, I eased up on you. Two years pass, I’m wondering when are you going to decide to break his heart and leave, because I am  _ hoping  _ for you to do it  _ soon,  _ and then he comes home, asks me to pick an engagement ring and all I thought of this weekend was that he was coming home  _ heartbroken  _ because you said  _ no  _ as you were meant to but  _ noooo _ ,” she slammed her hand on the marble. “He comes home a vampire.”

“If I hadn’t done it,” Padmé said slowly, choosing to file away the fact that Shmi had somehow  _ known _ she was a vampire, “then your son would have been coming home as a corpse. That crash would have killed him, Shmi. I called 911, but they weren’t going to get there in time, his heart had all but stopped. Can you  _ honestly _ tell me, if that had happened, that you wouldn’t be screaming at me right now about how I could have saved him?”

Shmi shook her head, biting her lower lip as her mind reeled. “Of course I wouldn’t want to bury my son and you’re right, I might have begged you if I was there, but it shouldn’t have happened like this. You should have been honest with him a long time ago, so he could have chosen for himself. He looks sad, lost and he’s  _ needy. _ He hasn’t been like that since he was  _ nine  _ and his father had just died.”

“I’m trying to help!” Padmé protested, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I know what I did was wrong, and I would take it back if I could, but I can’t do that, and I can’t cure him! I can’t do anything except try to make this as easy for him as possible! And why did  _ you _ never say anything to me? How did you even know?”

“I know a lot more than you do, child,” Shmi looked over at her. “What are you? Four hundred? Five hundred?” She shook her head. “It wasn’t my place to meddle in your relationship. I was patiently waiting for you to break his heart and let him live the life he was meant to.”

“You’re not one of my kind. What are you?” Padmé pressed, unwilling to let the subject go. “Werewolf? Witch? Or something else?”

“Human. Since the nineties, at least,” Shmi replied and opened a cupboard to remove a wooden box from inside of it. “Ani, sweetheart, stop listening behind the door and get in here.”

Anakin carefully entered the kitchen and glanced between his mother and Padmé. “You know?” He asked, quietly. “You know the whole truth?”

“Yes,” she smiled at him sweetly. “Now, sit, I’m going to make you a tea that helps with that dark aura you have hanging on you,” she took a few herbs from the box and placed a kettle with water on the stove.

He looked at her, at a loss for words as he took a stool and sat on it, he glanced at Padmé and down to the island’s counter.

“Mortal father?” Padmé guessed, folding her arms and leaning against the refrigerator. “You were a witch, and you gave up your powers for love?”

“I was  _ the  _ witch,” Shmi sniffed as she prepared the herbs. “I have lived many, many centuries and I never fell in love with anyone, as I did with Luc,” she said as she turned and walked towards Anakin, taking his hand. “Your father was the greatest man I knew. He was good. Pure. He loved me regardless of what I was. And I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be his wife and give him his children. But for that, as Padmé said, I have to give up my gifts,” she kissed Anakin’s knuckle. “Getting others in return.”

“You never told me,” Anakin said with a frown.

“I thought I wouldn’t need to, sweetheart. As I gave up my powers, I became human. I aged as he did. I can get sick. I will die a mortal way someday. There was nothing to tell you because it wasn’t my reality anymore. You and your dad were,” she smiled.

“Though clearly you haven’t given everything up,” Padmé observed as she tapped the spice rack. “These are witch’s herbs, aren’t they?”

“I gave up the gifts that made me immortal, I didn’t lose my touch with some spells, herbal teas, I have a little garden that I tend myself,” she said proudly.

“How old are you, mom?” Anakin asked, his head hurting again. Could a vampire get migraines?

“Older than your sire,” she replied with a wink.

“You could at least give him the century, Shmi, I did.”

Shmi just gave her a long stare, tightening her hold on her son’s hand. “The thirteen century.”

“You gave up immortality after almost seven hundred years for love, and yet are somehow surprised by the choice I made for the same reason?” Padmé asked bitterly.

“When I made my decision, I made it with Luc. I was honest with him from the beginning and the choice was ours,” Shmi explained. “I had lived through so many periods, so many times and I ached for a family. A real one with Luc.  _ You  _ took the rest of Anakin’s life away,” she protested. 

“His life was ending no matter what—”

“I know it was to save him from dying and I’m sure I’ll start being grateful when I stop mourning everything he won’t get to do, or have,” she sighed, as the kettle began to whistle. “Have you at least reported his change to your Council Representative?” she asked as she turned off the flame.

“I don’t know who the Council Representative for this region is, I’ve never had a reason to before tonight.”

Shmi sighed and grabbed her phone. She scrolled down the contacts and pressed one and set the phone on the counter. It started ringing as she took a mug from the cabinet, it was white and in a funny blue letter said ‘Not a GENIUS before COFFEE’ and poured the tea into it. She passed it to Anakin.

“ _ Good evening, Shmi,”  _ a soft, british voice that Anakin immediately recognized, picked up.

“Impossible,” Padmé exhaled.

“Hello, Ben, hope I’m not interrupting your dinner?”

“ _ No, not at all. I thought you were having dinner tonight. With Anakin and Padmé? _ ”

Anakin’s mouth popped open. No way. Obi-Wan Kenobi? The family’s long-time friend? His  _ mentor _ ? The person he went to whenever he had an issue? A question his mother couldn’t answer?  _ Him too? _

“Oh, we were. But… Anakin’s diet has changed,” she explained as she poured herself some tea too. She needed to relax as much as her son.

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment. “ _ Do you have me on speakerphone?” _

“Yes, you lying bastard,” Anakin hissed and Shmi saw for the first time his fangs. She paused, shook her head and sipped her tea. “Is everyone around me a supernatural creature? Should I expect Ahsoka to turn into a gigantic, silly wolf at the next full moon?”

“Ahsoka is human,” Shmi and Padmé said in unison.

“ _ I’m coming over, _ ” Obi-Wan said, hanging up.

“I’m leaving,” Anakin stood up, abruptly, tea forgotten. “I can’t with you people. Any of you,” he turned and stalked out of the room and before they could move, they heard the front door slamming shut.

Shmi turned to Padmé and sipped her tea. “Tea, dear?” She offered.

“I’m more concerned about Anakin than tea.”

“Go after him if you want,” Shmi said. “But I know him and his mood swings. Being a fledgling, I can only imagine how much worse it has gotten. But if you want him to chew you out in a fit of rage…” she shrugged, “go for it.”

“I’ve had that ever since he woke up,” Padmé admitted, reluctantly taking a mug with Anakin’s baby picture on it. “How the hell is  _ Obi-Wan Kenobi _ a representative of the Council. He’s been out in the daylight, I know that from how much time he spends with Anakin.”

“He has a Solar Amulet,” Shmi explained. “Anakin expected to leave Vermont engaged. Not a vampire. It’s going to take awhile before he is back to normal.”

“I still don’t understand why he didn’t do it to begin with. We were on the way back, he hadn’t even mentioned it. And how did Obi-Wan even get a… you gave it to him, didn’t you?”

Shmi smiled secretly. “I owe him a debt,” she said. “It was the least I could do for him. There was nothing else I could give him short of my first-born son,” she paused, “and given how close he is with Anakin, I might have given him that too,” she snorted before sighing and indulging the woman in front of her. “Anakin was going to take you to Lake Willoughby once you were on your way home. I suspect it was where he was heading to when the accident happened. There is a hidden trail that leads to this beautiful view of the lake, very private. It was where Luc proposed to me. After we had Ani, we would go there every month, do that same trail, and have breakfast watching the sunrise. It’s one of Ani’s favorite places and memory with his dad.”

“Fuck,” Padme groaned. “So not only would I have had to break his heart, but then he would have had to see me burn into ashes.”

“Sounds about right,” Shmi nodded as she sipped her tea. “I was hoping that you would catch on to his intentions and tell him the truth, so that you could leave before the sun could burn you.”

“Do you remember what it’s like to be in love? That immediate feeling when you’re with him, and everything else in the world just falls away?”

“Yes, I also remember realizing my relationship was getting too serious and sitting Luc down to tell him the truth,” she replied bluntly.

“This was my first time,” Padmé confessed. “My first time in love, my first time caring about someone. The last time I was engaged, it was 1525, after months of negotiations arranged by the guardian who turned me a week before I was supposed to be married. Along with seven other women my age.”

"Oh, you were one of the women turned by Palpatine," Shmi realized. “I remember hearing about that, from Obi-Wan actually.”

“We were the last of them,” confirmed Padmé. “The Council attacked the château a fortnight after he turned us. He liked it there, my family home,” She sighed, trying not to think of how much she missed that place, even after all this time.“It was beautiful, he loved to be surrounded by beautiful things. Including his fledglings.”

“I’m sorry, I know how ruthless he was. He hunted down witches for the Solar Amulet spell. It was when I met Obi-Wan. Palpatine had found out that only one bloodline of witches had the spellbook that contained the spell he needed and he nearly caught me, if it wasn’t for Ben,” Shmi had a faraway look in her eyes. “He took me into the Council’s protective custody and, as a reward for his help, and for helping me  _ disprove  _ the allegations that I could  _ do  _ a Solar Amulet, I offered him one,” she smiled, widely.

“I wondered about those,” Padmé admitted. “My coven and I, we traveled across the continent after our severing, visiting different cities, exploring the nightlife, checking every market we could find for one, but we never succeeded. I learned to live without the sun. And I didn’t miss it. Until Anakin.”

“There aren’t many Solar Amulets. I suspect only a handful of vampires have them. There have been amulets lost in time, and you should never trust a Solar Amulet sold in a black market. It can have deadly consequences and I doubt my son wants to sweep your ashes under the rug, no matter how he feels for you at the moment,” she said, shaking her head “You should have seen how I showed Obi-Wan my amulet worked,” the former witch looked far too amused at that memory.

“Shmi, with all due respect, I don’t know if I’m really in the mood for humor at this moment.

“You think I am?” She retorted. “My son is a vampire. He’s unhappy. If you prefer I stay here and curse you, or beat you, we can do that too. What do you prefer?” And at that moment, the doorbell rang. “Ben is here,” she stood, straightening her clothes. “You’re his problem now.” And she walked out of the room, to open the door.

“Hello, Shmi. May I come in?” Obi-Wan asked pleasantly.

“Come in, do your job, and go search for Anakin. He ran away,” she made a face and opened the door wider to let him in. “I’m afraid he’ll only listen to you.”

“Padmé,” Obi-Wan nodded as he stepped inside.

“Representative Kenobi,” Padmé said tersely. “I sired Anakin over this weekend. The circumstances were dire, and it was not premeditated, I assure you.”

“Considering who your sire is, Lady Naberrie, I am inclined to believe you,” Obi-Wan nodded. “But Shmi is correct, searching for Anakin  _ is _ imperative. I’ll report to the Council  _ after _ we’ve located him.”

“You know him, Ben, see if you can find him before the sun rises,” Shmi sighed. “He’s barely three days old, there’s still a lot to teach him and I don’t want my son toasted in the sun.”

“I promise you, I’ll find him,” Obi-Wan nodded. “Wait here, in case he does come back.”

“Of course, I’ll start arranging the house so he’s not hurt by sunlight,” Shmi said.

“I’ll help,” Padmé added.

“Maybe you should go home too, Padmé,” Shmi suggested. “Anakin could go there.”

“I’d call Ahsoka,” Padmé said.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No. Ahsoka is a human and a smart one. We can’t rope her into something like this and expect her to not ask questions or search on her own. Shmi is right, Padmé, you should go home. We don’t know where Anakin will go next. When I find him, I’ll warn you. Right now, let me handle the situation.”

“Maybe I should come with you, is there something that the sire-bond could do to be helpful?”

“Padmé, is Anakin opening up to you at all?” Obi-Wan sighed and gave her a sympathetic look. “I know you are concerned, but you need to give him space. Smothering him, especially  _ him _ , won’t do you any good.”

“I can’t just do nothing.”

“You can when it’s the best for Anakin,” Shmi said. “Let Obi-Wan take care of him for now.”

“I’m sorry,” Padmé said tearfully, pressing a hand to her face. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“You still love him,” Obi-Wan finished. “And that’s why you need to go now. We love him too. We’ll make certain he’s alright.”


	3. One Hell of an Adjustment

The view from the Empire State Building was always breathtaking, no matter how many times he visited. It was drizzling and so that meant that except for a couple on the other side, he was alone. Anakin sighed and leaned against the railing. He was confused. Betrayed. Lied to. His mother had been a seven hundred witch. His mentor, best friend, older brother figure, was a vampire  _ who could walk during the day,  _ and his girlfriend was a vampire too.

It was still impossible to say if he was grateful or not that she had saved his life. On the one hand, yes, it was good. He could see his mom and his friends again. He could still visit these places he loved so much. On the other hand, he thought about everything he would never get to do. Grow old with the one he loved. Have a family, like he always dreamt. Be an eternal creature of shadows, feasting on blood, unchanging. 

He was lost.

“Are you willing to talk, or should I just prepare to chase you?” A familiar British voice asked from behind him.

Anakin sighed, recognizing Obi-Wan. However, he didn’t turn. “What do you want?”

“Your mother and Padmé were both worried about you. They asked me to find you.”

“You found me. Now return to the starting house and win your prize,” he drawled.

“You only have so much time before sunrise, Anakin, and you don’t have a Solar Amulet. Contrary to what modern literature, and I use that term loosely, might tell you, clouds do not invalidate the daylight for us.”

“A what?” Anakin looked over his shoulder. “Forget it, I don’t care,” he turned back to the view of New York. “I’ll stay in the shadows, like a good little vamp. Don’t worry. I’m not suicidal.”

“Anakin, we can talk about this rationally.”

Finally, he turned around to face Obi-Wan. “What is there to talk about? I didn’t know vampires were this chatty. All Padmé wants to do is talk now too.”

“Would you prefer that she be trying to sleep with you?” the  _ much _ older man asked dryly. “Padmé has not had to deal with this transition since a time when talking and reading books in Latin and Greek were the primary methods of engaging with the world.”

Deciding to let the dry humor go by and not acknowledge it, Anakin just gave his friend a flat look. "What do you have to tell me that she didn't already? Sunlight, bad. Blood, good. Immortality, check. Coffins, not needed. Am I missing anything?" 

“It’s not exactly immortality.”

“No, I know. Stakes are bad too and I should really avoid churches and holy ground or the God above might zap me for it. Ah, there’s also the fact that I will lose my soul, little by little, until I can no longer see myself in a mirror.”

“There’s also the matter of your bond. If your sire dies, so do you.”

“Sounds very Shakesperian.”

“It’s significantly older than Shakespeare. Though I did actually work with him for a bit. Played Iago in  _ Othello _ .”

Anakin gave him an unimpressed look. “Of course you did. Sorry the Tony Awards weren’t a thing back then, I’m sure you were spectacular.”

“Terrible, actually.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You’ve been playing quite the part ever since I was a baby,” Anakin started moving towards the exit. “If you don’t have anything new to tell me, I’m about to go and take all of my vacation days so I can figure out the rest of my… eternity that is not immortality.”

“I’m also here on official business, Anakin. The Council takes a very serious approach to the creation of new vampires, there’s normally a procedure to these things, one which Padmé circumvented in saving your life.”

“Vampire paperwork, really?” Anakin groaned. “Do they need to see my driver’s license? Criminal record? Resume?”

“Considering how well I know you, those elements are less pressing,” Obi-Wan sighed. “I’ve already heard Padmé’s side of the story, and I’m going to be telling the council about what happened. They’ll pass judgment on her, determine whether or not her actions merit execution, but they need to know you’ll keep the secret too.”

“Execution? That’s extreme,” Anakin stilled. “I was dying. She saved my life. Of course I’m going to keep the secret. Or do you think I’m going to climb mountains and shout it to the bats that fly around at night, or the drunks that leave the bars? Give me a bit more credit.”

“Anakin, she’s not going to get special treatment. Our secrecy is paramount to our survival, and if the council determines either of you are determined to be a liability, they’ll…”

“Lovely, your government is worse than the mortal one,” he made a disgusted face.  _ Council? Rules? Execution?  _ Didn’t she turn him to save his life? Now they could both die? What kind of reality was this and  _ how  _ could he politely decline it? “Maybe I’ll just burn to a crisp and save everyone the hassle. Just let me record a message to my mom first.”

“It won’t come to that. No one’s been executed for that in five hundred years. And they might punish her without you.”

“You realize that you’re increasing my vampire anxiety, right?”

“Would you prefer it if I’d given you a formal manual?”

Anakin groaned and covered his face. “Why me? Why me?” He shook his head. “You are making things worse. I’m going to go home and… I’ll see you in a century or so, alright?” Turning his back, he opened the door to leave.

“Anakin, I understand how terrifying it is to learn all of this. I truly do. So does Padmé. So does your mother. We’re doing what we can to help you, but if you keep acting like a child, you’ll push away everyone who loves you.”

“Then just stop helping, okay?” He shouted. “Just stop. Stop it. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I didn’t ask,” he disappeared through the door and it slammed behind him, the metal sound eerily final.

* * *

Shmi opened the door and grabbed her son’s shirt, pulling him inside. “It’s half an hour to the sunrise. You need to start paying attention to that!”

“I’m sorry,” Anakin mumbled, fidgeting with his shirt. “Can I go upstairs to my room?”

“You can,” Shmi sighed. “I’ve blocked off all the windows and left a bloody steak in there for you. And Padmé put some blood packs in your minifridge before she left. Plus a thermos. I’ll be downstairs. Let me know if you need anything.”

Anakin nodded and kissed her cheek. He went up to his childhood bedroom and closed the door behind him and looked at the bloody steak and thermos beside it. Remembering how his throat was burning, he sat down and quickly ate the steak and drank the entire thermos. He knows he was rough with Obi-Wan but he could feel a panic attack coming up. His mind was already swirling, and hearing about a crazed Council that could execute him and Padmé or just punish Padmé made him feel worse than before. 

Grabbing his phone, Anakin had one last thing to do before he went  _ offline  _ for a while. He sent an email to his boss and asked if, due to a health issue, he could take his remaining vacation days. He has worked non-stop for about a year and a half, so he accumulated a lot of vacation days and his boss liked him and had already coached him to take some time off anyway. After that, he would work from home.

Next, he texted Kitster and Ahsoka telling them the exact same thing and told them they would meet up once he felt better. Disconnecting his phone, he crawled under the sheets and blankets and hid his face in his pillow.

There. He could stay like that for the next decade. 

* * *

In the completely darkened space that served as her office, Padmé switched on her webcam and opened the virtual meeting labeled SISTERS. A few of the names were just icons, but some had camera footage already playing.

“Padmé!” Eirtaé chirped, waving happily. “There you are. We missed you this weekend.”

“Oh, please, she was with her  _ loverboy _ on a romantic weekend,” Saché grinned from ear to ear. “How was it? Was it wonderful?”

“Should I be jealous, beloved?” Yané asked, moving into the camera frame to press a kiss to Saché’s neck.

“Oh, you know I love you to ashes,” Saché giggled.

“I don’t want to talk about Anakin right now,” Padmé shook her head. “Eirtaé, you had a new line debuting this week, yes?”

“Next week, but thank you for remembering. And now I’m even more curious about this little holiday you had.”

“Oh, that is not a good face,” Dormé guessed. “Did you break up with him after all? Come on, we’re your sisters, tell us. We can support you!”

“What’s going on?” Sabé asked as she turned on her camera. “And are we all here?”

“Cordé and Rabé aren’t here yet,” Yané said. “You know the Brazilian club scene. Give it a few more minutes,  _ then _ we’ll pressure Padmé about her mortal beau.”

“We’re here!” Two voices shouted as another camera came on and both Cordé and Rabé grinned to their sisters. 

“Sorry, the connection here is kind of a bitch,” Rabé pointed out.

“What’s happening, ladies?” Cordé asked.

“Pressuring Padmé about her boy-toy,” Sabé said.

“Fledgling,” Padmé corrected miserably. The chatroom went quiet for a full minute. Then everyone burst into a mess of every Romance language known to man. “Hush!” Padmé begged. “Look, it was a split-second decision, our car crashed and I had to turn him to save his life!”

“What about the Council?”

“Did he kill anyone yet?”

“I knew dating him was a mistake!”

“Wasn’t there a hospital nearby?”

Eirtaé silenced them all with a sharp whistle. “You are asking the wrong questions, sisters, or making the worst assumptions. I’m disappointed,” she scowled. “Padmé,” she sighed, “how are you? How’s Anakin?”

“Furious with me, and avoiding me at all costs.” Padmé groaned, burying her face in her hands. “He was planning on proposing to me, at the same spot where his parents fell in love and got engaged. At sunrise. Oh,  _ and  _ it turns out his mother is a former witch, and his oldest friend and mentor is the local Council representative. Which made things a thousand times worse.”

“Talk about connections,” Saché laughed softly. "Padmé, it's normal that he's a little confused. He'll come around. You need to give him space to adjust to who he is now."

"Remember when it was us? We were upset too and we needed a lot of patience to be who we are today,” Yané nodded.

“Yes, but we had each other, and he’s alone—”

“How is no one talking about the engagement part?” Dormé interrupted. “I want to see the ring,” she pouted.

“We’re not engaged. I’m not even sure if he’s still my boyfriend anymore,” Padmé shook her head. “We never made it to the lake, I just found the ring in the crash and… I made the choice to turn him then. And now he hates me.”

“Oh, don’t say that, P.,” Dormé sighed, sadly. “I’m sure he still loves you just as fiercely. It’s just… a brand new world to him. He’ll be down on one knee in no time and you can be the next one doing the blood binding.”

“You set a date?” Padmé looked at Saché and Yané, grateful for a subject change. “About time, it’s only been what, four hundred years since you fell in love?”

“Two months from now, in Romania,” Saché said with a grin.

“Anakin is invited too, if you two figure it out by then,” Yané added.

“Where’s the fledgling now?” Sabé asked, returning to the original subject. She had a deep frown on her face. “Have you spoken with the representative? Given that he’s a friend of Anakin’s, do you think he can intercede in your favor?”

“I’m optimistic about the mitigating circumstances, and that Obi-Wan will do what he can. But I’ll accept whatever the Council decides. I don’t really have much choice.”

“I told you he was bad news,” Sabé shook her head.

“Sabé,” Eirtae chastised. “Be more supportive, please. We all know she loves him. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have turned him and we’ve seen that Anakin loves her too.”

“He loves human Padmé. Does he love vampire Padmé? I just want to protect our sister,” Sabé replied.

“Anakin loves  _ Padmé. _ Period,” Dormé said confidently. “No matter the species. I met him last year, I know what I’m saying.”

“I understand what you’re trying to do,” Cordé added, “we weren’t alone when we transformed. You’re trying to be there for him. But you’re too close to this, Padmé. Yané is right, give him time. As for the matter of your relationship, you knew the risks in seeing a human.”

“There was always going to be a price,” Rabé agreed. “But that doesn’t automatically mean  _ bad news, _ Sabé.”

“You are all worrying too much. We’ll be there for their blood binding ceremony,” Saché said.

“Got that right,” Dormé agreed with a warm smile. “Did you get to see the ring? Was it gorgeous? Was it big? Tell me he got you a big diamond!”

“It was lovely,” Padmé conceded. “An oval cut solitaire with more diamonds set in the band.”

“The band wasn’t silver, was it?” Eirtaé asked in a panic, and Padmé shook her head.

“Yellow gold.”

“It sounds gorgeous,” Dormé sighed dreamily.

“ _ You _ bind yourself to someone soon,” Sabé scoffed. “Let them deal with your hopeless romanticism.”

“And you’re going to be alone forever,” Dormé shot back at her. “Padmé, take a deep breath. Do some yoga, meditation and whatnot. Give him time and things will go back to normal, you’ll see. Was I ever wrong?”

“Fifteen twenty-four, when you claimed that you were going to marry Lodovico de’ Medici.”

“Oh, shut it!” Dormé interrupted, blushing. “I am rooting for you.”

“You’re going to be disappointed,” Sabé warned. “Let him go, Padmé, broken hearts heal. Come live with me in London for a spell, I’ll help you forget him. It’s not like you  _ need _ that job of yours anyway.”

“Just like that?” Padmé asked, considering it as she fingered the end of her braid. “Leave everything in New York?”

“You would have had to anyway, after you broke his heart.”

“No!” A bunch of voices said at the same time.

“Padmé, you can’t!” Eirtaé said, narrowing her eyes.

“I’ll consider it, but I’m not committing to anything. I’ll see you at our next call. But right now, I need to sleep so badly, I might actually want a coffin.”

“Don’t make any rash decision and make sure to give him some time,” Dormé said.

“Yeah, P., everything will be fine,” Eirtaé said, softly. “We are all behind you and we all love you.”

“I love you too. You’re still my sisters. Keep talking without me.” She closed the chat with a sigh, wandering into her bedroom and pulling a bottle of blood from the cooler. She took a long drink as she stared at the framed picture on her bedside table, a caricature of her and Anakin from Coney Island’s boardwalk. He’d been drawn as Superman, and she was Lois Lane.

She missed him. But her sisters were right. He needed space. She owed him that.

* * *

“Ani?”

“Yeah?” He replied weakly from the hiding spot he had claimed nearly two weeks ago. His bed still felt as comfortable as it did when he was a child and getting up in the morning was hell.

“Obi-Wan’s here. He brought you some fresh blood, and news about the Council. Will you please come down?” 

“Why can’t he come up here?” He asked with a sigh, running a hand over his hair, making it probably look worse than what it already was.

“Because if I know you, your room is a mess, and it smells terrible.”

“It can’t be a mess when I haven’t left the bed, now can it?” Still, he pushed the covers away and put on some old sweatpants and MIT sweatshirt. Opening the door, he looked over at his mother. “Hi, mother witch,” he said as he breezed past her and down the stairs.

“Oh, it  _ does _ smell awful in there, when did you last shower?” she gagged. 

He made a face as he joined Obi-Wan in the living room. “Almighty Representative,” he did an exaggerated bow and sat in an armchair. “So, are Padmé and I losing our heads?” 

“Ani!” Shmi reprimanded. 

“I’ll be visiting Padmé to discuss the details, but the council has chosen to be lenient with her. Neither of you will be burned, and her punishment will be a brief one.” 

“What is the punishment?” Anakin asked.

“Probation, effectively. There’ll be a member of the council assigned to watch her at all times, to ensure she doesn’t bite another human, either to drink from them or to turn them.”

Anakin still had to get a sense of what these people considered punishment, rules, or stalkers. “For how long? Isn’t that extreme? She’s what? Five hundred and I’m her first fledgling?”

“The punishment  _ used _ to be branding,” Obi-Wan said. “A silver charm pressed into the flesh, burning a permanent mark into the skin. This is mercy, Anakin, trust me. The vampire supervising will report to me and I will make the call when I can confidently say she’s no longer a risk.”

He scowled. “You guys are barbaric.”

“Our ways are archaic, but they’ve preserved our way of life—”

“That’s not a good argument,” Shmi interrupted. “There were those who said something similar at Salem. Before they sent those who protested to the gallows with more accusations of witchcraft.”

Anakin glanced at his mother, eyes narrowed. He shook his head. “I find out something new about you every day,” he mumbled. 

“Yoda himself made this ruling,  _ you _ wish to argue with a being who is nine thousand years old, be my guest, Shmi,” Obi-Wan said coolly.

“He sounds like someone I never want to meet,” Anakin pointed out. “Thank you, though, for letting me know the ruling.”

“You’re welcome. Then there’s the matter of this.” Obi-Wan reached inside his jacket to retrieve a gold pendant. “I mentioned this when we last spoke. It’s a Solar Amulet. For day-walking. Your mother gifted this to me a long time ago, but I think it’s time I passed it to you.”

Looking from the gold pendant to Obi-Wan’s face, Anakin was touched. He knew what his mentor was giving up and he couldn’t allow that. He wasn’t going to be selfish like that. “Thank you, but no, thank you,” he said, with a grateful smile. “It means a lot that you are offering it, Obi-Wan, but it’s yours and I could never accept it.”

“Are you certain? Anakin, this would let you get back some semblance of your life.”

“I am, Obi-Wan. I know what it means and I’m very grateful, but you need it. You have your own life and you can’t change it or give it up for me,” he nodded.

“Anakin is right,” Shmi agreed and set a hand on her son’s shoulder. “Besides, I have reached out to a few acquaintances of mine and I’ve asked for all the ingredients I need to create another Solar Amulet. I have a little magic left in some talismans for a rainy day, and it’s clearly pouring,” she pushed Anakin’s hair away from his eyes.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan nodded. “Your coven does know such things better than I do. I’ll trust your expertise. And since I’ve delivered the blood, and the news, I need to be going. I have an appointment with Padmé next. There are quite a few logistics she and I need to discuss.”

“Perhaps Anakin should go with you?” offered Shmi.

“Anakin is going back upstairs,” her son said, grabbing some blood bags from the suitcase. “Thank you, Obi-Wan,” he called out as he disappeared in the stairs and they heard his bedroom door close.

“He could at least  _ clean _ in there,” Shmi sighed, shaking her head. “Is it normal for fledgling vampires to smell like hormonal teenage humans?”

“Hmm, no, that’s just Anakin refusing to live and have the hygiene of a normal person,” Obi-Wan chuckled. “How long has it been since he hid himself from the world up there? Ahsoka keeps calling me, worried he has the plague or something.”

“He’s switched to working from home, I think the only reason his boss lets him is because the company would fall apart without him. I don’t think he’s said a word to anyone other than me since Padmé brought him home.”

“Some fledglings take longer than others to get used to their new reality. I know it’s hard, but patience is a virtue,” Obi-Wan said.

“Go speak to Padmé. You know I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“I know. Make sure he stays fed and that he doesn’t lose all his social skills in that bedroom of his,” he rolled his eyes as he opened the door. “I’ll keep Ahsoka entertained with something.”

“I’ll try to get him to call her. Vampires  _ do _ still show up in film, don’t they?”

“Yes, it’s still only mirrors that can’t hold our image.”

“Good. I’ll make him do a video call, then. Take care, Obi-Wan.”

“You too, Shmi, talk to you later,” he closed the door and left Shmi alone, sighing as she looked up to the ceiling and wondered what she was going to do with her son.

* * *

There was a scratching at his window. Anakin frowned and pushed one side of his wireless headphones off his ear. Shaking his head, he placed it back and kept moving his fingers over the keyboard. The scratching came again, followed by a hiss. “ _ Anakin.” _

Taking the headphones and placing them with the computer on the desk, he went to the windows and opened it. Thankfully, it was night. “ _ What _ ?” He stepped back as he realized who it was. “Oh.”

Padmé sat cross-legged on his window ledge. “Can I come in?” she asked shyly. Anakin nodded and stepped away from the window, so she could enter the room with ease. She climbed in, and in the light from his desk lamp, he could see that she wasn’t looking that well. Her body definitely looked thinner, and there were dark circles under her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Hi.” She rubbed at her hands, shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

“Hi,” he replied back as he sat on the edge of the bed. “How was your appointment with Obi-Wan?”

“Lovely,” she sighed. “Though my coven thinks the Council is being tyrannical. There were several invocations of George Orwell’s  _ 1984. _ ”

“They’re right, the Council doesn’t seem rational. But according to Obi-Wan, it could have been worse than having someone stalk you for an unlimited period of time,” Anakin pointed out.

“It certainly could have been. I do come from a time period where stockades, branding, and mutilations were common,” she agreed.

His eyes narrowed in horror. “Christ!”

“I’m going to be fine, Anakin, don’t worry about me. I’ll have a babysitter for a while, that’s all. And there’s nothing that says I can’t make friends with said babysitter.”

“I do, after all you are in this position because of me,” he pointed out. “Have you met the babysitter?”

“Not yet.”

“Do you at least know who it is?” He tilted his head.

“Qui-Gon Jinn. He’s Obi-Wan’s sire, actually.”

Anakin processed the name and gasped. “Wait. I know him!” He declared. “He’s the one that Obi-Wan sent to pick me up from jai—my Spring Break vacation. That went very wrong, very fast. He lives in England.”

“Yes, he’s had a few run-ins with Sabé. She’s one of the other women in my coven. And much more temperamental than I am.”

“I’m more relieved. He’s actually a decent person,” Anakin said. “That wasn’t the one that I met already, was it?” He wondered, before shaking his head. “No, I met Dormé last year. Right?”

“Right. There are eight of us, and unfortunately, we all look very similar. Except for Eirtaé, who’s a blonde.”

“That’s a big family,” he pointed out with a soft smile.

“It’s even bigger than you know. Palpatine always created new vampires in batches, so we limit our coven to be those who were turned in the same batch.”

He shuddered. “It’s like you’re speaking about making cookies.” Anakin paused as he stared at her. He mimicked her position on the window ledge, sitting cross-legged in bed, and grabbing a pillow so he had something to do with his hands. “You don’t look all that well.”

“I’ve taken a pretty heavy caseload lately. I work long hours at night, and I do prep work and research during the day. I’m not sleeping or eating much.”

“You should,” he frowned. “Obi-Wan has made it pretty clear we’re not immortal, just more resistant than your average human.”

“I do it when I need to.”

Anakin shook his head at her stubbornness. “I keep telling you, you’re a workaholic.”

“As if you’re not?” she wrinkled her nose, finally registering the smell. “How often do you leave this room?”

“This is my lair,” he scowled. “And I’m not the five-hundred-year-old vampire here. I’m just twenty days old.”

“Yes, but you should still know how to take a shower and do laundry.”

“I already have a mom, thank you very much,” he rolled his eyes.

“I know, but girlfriends are allowed to fuss too, aren’t they? If I  _ am _ still your girlfriend, I mean.”

Anakin set the pillow aside and pursed his lips at her question, he looked at her and she looked as adorable as she did the first time he met her and even if the past weeks have been hard, he has missed her. They might not be on the page he thought they were and they had taken a lot of steps back, but he still loved her.

“You’re a horrible girlfriend,” he started, “you didn’t even greet me properly.”

“I said hi…” he just raised his eyebrows at her.  _ Really? Hi?  _ “I’m sorry, should I have kissed you? Without permission?”

“You turned me into a vampire without permission. A kiss doesn’t hurt as much,” he teased.

“Seriously, I’m trying to be better about the whole permission thing, Anakin.”

“You can’t compare a kiss to the whole turning me into a vampire thing,” he rolled his eyes. “Fine, now I don’t want it anymore,” Anakin shrugged and grabbed the pillow again.

“I wasn’t… that isn’t…” she groaned. “I came here to ask about what you wanted for our relationship.”

“You could have led with that,” he pointed out.

“I got a little distracted with the conversation about Obi-Wan.”

Anakin sighed. “Look, I love you. I’ve been going over everything over the past few weeks and that I can say for sure. I love you and I want to maintain a relationship, but not on the same advanced stage we were. I lost my trust in you and that’s a fact that I don’t want to lie about. It’s like we’re starting our relationship from scratch and it’s going to take time before I feel like we’re in the position I thought we were back in Vermont.”

“Then, if we’re starting from scratch, maybe… we can have a second first date next week? Saturday, perhaps?”

“I promise I won’t sabotage it.”

“Thank you for that.”

He nodded, feeling at a loss of what to do next. “You’re welcome.”

“Well, since I did what I came here to do, I guess I should get going.”

“Then… I guess I’m seeing you next Saturday.”

“Can I kiss you before I go?”

“Are you going to ask me that every time you want to kiss me from now on?” He countered.

“I can find new ways to ask,” she said, letting her lashes flutter at him with a smirk. “So you don’t get bored of it.”

“Hmm. I look forward to seeing those new ways,” he said with a chuckle.

“Still waiting for an answer, Skywalker.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess you can,” he said in an overly dramatic kind of way. She rolled her eyes and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Am I a joke to you, Naberrie?” He groaned.

“Well, your hair is,” she teased, reaching up to ruffle it.

“You want it like that, I can play hard to get,” he said and got up to open his window. “Until next Saturday.”

“As you wish,” she nodded, moving to go back the way she’d come. At the last moment, she paused, raising a hand to trace the edge of his cheek. “I love you too, by the way. And even if it literally takes the rest of forever, I will work to earn back your trust.”

* * *

“Mom, you’re staring,” Anakin commented as he saw himself in the full-length mirror of the living room. He was dressed in a black suit, with a black shirt and dress shoes. The top buttons of his shirt were undone and he was trying to manage his hair.

“I’m just happy you’re finally leaving your room for the first time in a month,” Shmi commented. “With Padmé, no less. I know it has not been easy and while I was upset with her that first night, I can’t help but feel grateful for each passing day because I don’t know what my life would be without you. I know she loves you, she wouldn’t have turned you if she didn’t.”

Anakin just smiled and kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

“Don’t be out too late,” she warned him with a smile, and for a moment, everything felt normal. Then his phone buzzed with a text from Padmé.

**«Are you ready? I’m about 1 minute away.»**

**«Ready when you are.»**

“I won’t, mom,” he smiled and grabbed his keys, leaving the house so he could wait for Padmé on the sidewalk. He heard her coming before she rounded the corner of the block, but even from a distance, she looked striking, wearing a white dress embroidered with sparkling beads in a floral pattern and a collar necklace that resembled angel wings wrapped around her neck, her hair swept up to show off the jewelry.

“Hi,” she said as she reached the front step, smiling at him shyly. “You look great.”

“You look… breathtaking,” he complimented after shocking on his saliva for a few seconds. Padmé always took his breath away whenever they went out, it was just that she seemed to have made an extra effort that night. “I called our Uber, it should be here in two minutes.”

“Well, what do you suppose we can do in two minutes?” she asked with a sly smile. “Stand here and make out?”

“If you consider last week’s peck  _ making out,  _ we’ve been doing things very wrong for a while,” he smirked teasingly. She grabbed his tie and pulled him down, sticking her tongue in his mouth as their lips crashed together. Anakin moaned into her mouth, wrapping his arms around her waist, and for the longevity of that kiss, he forgot what the last month had been like and it was purely them again, with no secrets. No supernatural reveals.

She pulled back, smirking at him. “How’s that for making out?”

“It was okay,” he said, pretending to be thoughtful. “I’ve had better though,” he winked as his phone beeped. He saw a car approaching the driveway. “Our Uber’s arrived.”

“Fine, we’ll continue this after dinner and the theater,” she promised, rolling her eyes a little as she laced her fingers into his and they headed to the car. “And maybe you’ll have to teach me a thing or two.”

“It will be my pleasure,” he said with his eyes darkening over the promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made this announcement in Flufftober as well, but the votes are in, so if you want to see what other stories we'll be continuing, head on over there!  
> Love,  
> MCD + CS


	4. Meet the Coven

They had made their orders and the waiter had left, so they were alone. Anakin laced his fingers together and leaned forward on the table. “So,” he started. “Time to tell me your story. The real one.”

“My mother was from Padua,” Padmé answered as she took a sip of the wine in front of her, “a merchant’s daughter. Very wealthy, quite an exorbitant dowry. My father was a minor French noble, he lived right near the border with Italy. Good land, but not a lot of it. Not a lot of prestige. It was an arranged marriage, financially beneficial rather than a love match, but that was common then. My elder sister had one too. I was born in the year 1500. The second of their children to live past infancy.”

"I can't imagine the fifteenth century," he commented. "What was it like? I mean, of course, I studied history, but… you were actually there to live it."

“Sixteenth,” she corrected gently, “But it was much more rigid than life now. Much less convenient. Dressing took longer, things were significantly dirtier than they are now, and things took much longer to do. I grew up speaking both French and Italian, but Father also insisted that I learn Greek and Latin, and whatever else he could think of to strengthen my mind. Music, poetry, dancing... As the younger of two daughters, I was always going to have a smaller dowry, so I needed more accomplishments to land a good match. Some people said my mind was equal to that of Anne Boleyn.” She name-dropped the English queen for a point of comparison.

"Thankfully you didn't end up without your head," Anakin winced. "Were you a part of any royal court of the time?" 

“I was,” Padmé admitted. “For a year. I actually served Queen Claude alongside Anne, before she was recalled to England by her father. We were not close friends, but she was a remarkable woman. I wept when I learned what became of her. Although I was turned by then.” She bit down on her lip. “When I was at court, it was as a ward of Sheev Palpatine, who claimed to be a relative of my father. I left when the news came that my parents and sister had died amidst the preparations for her marriage.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t imagine going through that.”

“It was a very lonely time. I had to go into mourning, and there were countless arrangements to be made regarding my inheritance.” A stray lock of hair slipped out of her twist and she fingered it idly as she continued. “Women were forbidden from claiming titles or property under the Salic law, but my father had no son, so Sheev stayed behind to argue on my behalf. That was also when he sent Sabé, Dormé, Yané, Saché, Cordé, Eirtaé, and Rabé to stay with me as companions.”

“The girls he turned alongside you,” he realized. “When did you find out who he was and what he intended on doing?”

“He made sure we didn’t until it was too late.” She held up a finger to shush him as the waiter returned with their entrees, and waited until they were alone again before she continued. “He was our guardian for three years, making us comfortable with one another, and with him. On the night he turned us, we all went to bed unaware, and woke up chained in place in the dungeons. One by one, he bit us and he drained us, and then there were figures in robes that came forward with cups filled with his blood. They forced us to drink while he spoke about his plans for us. How we’d join his other fledglings in making advantageous matches until he had control over the whole of Europe, and eventually, the entire world.”

“Sounds like a monster,” Anakin grimaced. “At least, after he was gone, you had each other to lean on. What did you girls do, with your freedom? Did you craft a plan? Did you figure it out as you went?”

“We traveled, mostly. After the Council freed us from his control, we went from country to country, but we could never stay anywhere long before we had to leave. Not being able to set foot on holy ground was exceedingly difficult in a time so fiercely Christian. Everyone had opinions on piety, and the last thing we needed was to draw attention to our apparent lack of faith.”

“It seems that being a vampire in this century is much easier than it was before,” he shook his head. “No one pays that much attention anymore.”

“Or at the very least, it’s easier to hide it,” she agreed as she cut off a corner of her steak. “I missed the Church so much in my early days. I missed the comfort it offered.”

“It is and at least I’m thankful I was turned when there is internet and wi-fi and jobs don’t require me to go to the office anymore,” he pointed out as he sipped his wine and cut his steak. “What was your favorite time period? My mom loves the twenties.”

“This one.”

He paused mid-bite to stare at her. “Really? Music kind of sucks nowadays,” but still, he smiled as he chewed on some steak.

“There are things to love and hate about every period. But this one’s my favorite because it’s the one that has you in it.”

“You flatter me,” he beamed. “Or is that flattery all a result of your guilt?” Anakin teased, tilting his head.

“No, it’s the truth,” she said with a smile. “I’ve had a lot of admirers over the years, Ani, but you’re the only one who’s ever managed to break through my defenses. And that’s a lot to say, considering that I’ve literally watched as marriage has evolved from a political and financial arrangement to something people could choose for themselves. For love.”

“I can’t imagine marrying for money or power, I don’t think anyone is happy like that. Or fully happy,” he pointed out. “I was raised to choose my path, my passions. Not what gave me the most power or money, but what would make me happy,” he smiled. “What about your sisters? Tell me more about them.”

“Eirtaé is very practically minded, she loves to make things. When we were traveling through Italy, she loved finding artisans and passing along her ideas to them. She runs a fashion house in Paris now. Have you heard of Ballory?”

“If it’s not a tech brand, I don’t know it,” Anakin grimaced. “Ahsoka, on the other hand, might have heard of it.”

“It’s an up and coming brand, she’s very proud of it. Sabé has been in England for about the last century, but she moves around a lot. There are more than a few urban legends that are actually just based on people seeing her.”

“Are they all based in Europe? You seem to be more fond of it than the States,” he questioned.

“Rabé and Cordé are in São Paulo right now. They both love music, and they’re doing the club scene there. They’re originally from Portugal, they like being somewhere they can speak the language without getting too homesick. And Dormé is in Los Angeles right now. Chasing after movie stars.”

“That one I know,” Anakin grinned. “I loved meeting her and she seems to be very close to you,” he nodded as he went over the names in his head. “What about… Saché and Yané?”

“They went back to Saché’s home in Romania. I’m actually going to visit them soon, they’re having a blood binding.”

“What’s a blood binding?” Anakin questioned with a frown.

“It’s essentially the vampire equivalent of a wedding ceremony.”

“How is it different from a normal wedding?”

“It’s a deeper connection,” she said, then paused. “Would you like to come see it? In person? With me?”

“I mean, if your sisters don’t mind, I would. It would also give me the chance to meet your… coven, right? It’s what you call yourselves, isn’t it?” Anakin nodded.

“Yes, that’s correct. We’re essentially family.”

“Are they the only ones to do a blood binding in your family? Or has there been more before?”

“No, they’re the first. The rest of us haven’t fallen in love like that, not with a human, and not with another vampire.”

He waited before doing his next question. “Do they know about me?”

“You mean that I turned you? Yes, they know.”

“And how did they react to that? You did get in trouble with the Council and aside from Dormé, they don’t know me,” he pointed out.

“Most of them are excited to meet you. I,” she blushed, “I may have been telling them about you in a lot of video conferences. They were worried about what the Council would do, but obviously, that turned out fairly well.” She raised a hand and waved slightly at the bearded man with the long hair sitting at the restaurant’s bar and watching her intensely.

“It’s still strange that he’s following us around,” Anakin frowned, looking over his shoulder and nodding politely at Qui-Gon. “I’m happy that they were excited, but you say most of them. Who hates my guts?” He raised his eyebrows with a chuckle. 

“It’s not that she hates your guts!”

“But?” Anakin prompted.

“She’s protective,” Padmé admitted. “She was the one pushing for me to leave you from the moment we started dating because she knew how much it would hurt when I fell for you. She still thinks I should leave you.”

Anakin frowned. “She still thinks that after you turned me? What is her idea? Leave me to fend on my own? I mean, I understand when I was human and things were harder, but I’m already one of you, doesn’t that count for something?”

“She was suggesting I leave you in Obi-Wan’s care and come live with her. I said no, but she might give you the cold shoulder during the ceremony.”

“What I don’t get is why, and who are we talking about here? Which one of them?”

“Sabé,” Padmé sighed. “And as for why, it’s complicated. She and I were closest to each other in those early days, we protected one another, told each other everything. She decided protecting me from  _ everything  _ was her responsibility.”

“I get protecting you, but protecting you from me?” He shook his head.

“Protecting me from myself,” she corrected. “She knows me. She knew how much it would hurt me to fall for you. To lose you. And she tends to make snap judgments and stick by them now. She trusts very few people since Palpatine deceived us.”

“I guess that’s one vampire I have to watch out for,” he sighed and finished his meal.

“She won’t hurt you. I won’t let her.”

Anakin nodded his appreciation. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

“So, that’s a yes? You’ll come with me to Romania?”

“Yes,” he agreed, smiling. “Now I’m curious to meet everyone.”

“Believe me, they’re just as curious about you.”

* * *

“ _ Mulțumesc _ ,” Padmé thanked the driver as they stepped out of the cab into the courtyard of the Gothic-Renaissance castle that had been the seat of the Adova family. It had been no small feat to time the flight from New York to Bucharest and the subsequent drive into the Carpathian Mountains, but they’d managed to pull it off, arriving safely in the night without any risk of burning. “Well, Ani? What do you think?”

“That the logistics of traveling like this are a nightmare,” he grimaced.

“I know,” she sighed as she pulled their bags out of the trunk. “But I was actually talking about the scenery.”

“Oh, that’s beautiful. I have never been to the country before and honestly, I’m sold,” he said, helping her with the bags.

“They’re here!” A squeal came as a flurry of bodies charged at them.

Anakin suddenly found himself surrounded by copies of his girlfriend. He could tell her apart, of course, to him, she always stood out with her regal features and beautiful chocolate eyes. But, the amount of doubles she had was incredible.

“The famous Anakin Skywalker, at last,” one of them said, her English marked by a French accent. “You sold him short, Padmé. He’s much more handsome than his pictures.”

“You’re Eirtaé,” Anakin chuckled, recognizing the only blonde female of the bunch. He saw Dormé, but the others were a mystery to him. Well, maye the one who was standing on the door scowling at him wasn’t, that was definitely Sabé. “Padmé has told me a lot about you.”

“I am,” she confirmed, kissing him lightly on both cheeks. “ _ Enchanté, _ and welcome to the family.”

“My turn!” One of the darker haired girls, one with a narrow face and eyes that bordered on black pushed Eirtaé aside. “It is  _ my _ weekend, after all.”

“This is Saché,” Padmé laughed. “One of our bonded-to-be.”

“Nice to meet you, Saché, and thanks for inviting me to the ceremony,” he beamed.

“We are more than happy to have you here,” the round-faced woman who was practically glued to Saché’s hip said as she extended a hand. “I’m Yané. Welcome to our home. And forgive my beloved’s enthusiasm,” she added as Saché gave Anakin a rather aggressive bear hug.

Anakin just laughed, returning the hug and then accepting Yané’s hand to shake. “It’s really no trouble. I like warm receptions. Bucharest is beautiful.”

“We do love to visit the city. We make it a point to see the opera every month at least.”

“Will you all come inside?” Sabé barked from the door. “I’m hungry and it’s cold. I hate the weather here.”

“Such terrible manners,” one of the unnamed women scolded as she took a bag from Padmé. “Hello, Anakin, I’m Cordé. Lovely to meet you.”

“One of the Portuguese girls,” he said, all but ignoring Sabé bad manners. He was not going to stop being charming because she had problems with him. “ _ Um prazer. _ ”

“ _ A Padmé não nos disse que falavas português!” _ The other girl, who, by process of elimination, had to be Rabé, exclaimed in delight.

“ _ Um pouco, apenas, pela minha mãe que viveu lá… algumas décadas afinal _ ,” he replied in a perfect accent and a wink. “And I don’t think I had told Padmé I spoke Portuguese before.”

“You definitely didn’t,” Padmé confirmed as they made their way up the steps and into the castle. 

“Look at that, I can still surprise you,” he quipped.

Sabé gripped Padmé by the forearm and pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering in her ear.

“I can’t believe you actually brought him.”

“He wanted to come,” Padmé whispered back. “And be nice.”

“No promises,” her friend replied sourly, letting her go.

“Anakin, this is Sabé,” Padmé said as they separated. “Saché, where are we staying?”

“We put the two of you in the north tower. I remember how much you liked it when we were young,” Saché answered, pressing a kiss to Yané’s neck as they walked.

“You’re incorrigible, not until tomorrow night!” Yané scolded.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Sabé,” Anakin greeted, albeit warily. “I heard you didn’t like me.”

“I don’t like the danger Padmé has continuously put herself in for you,” his girlfriend’s doppelgänger said coldly before disappearing down one of the corridors, and Padmé sighed.

“She’s fun,” Anakin said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, Angel,” he kissed his girlfriend’s forehead.

“ _ Angel,”  _ Cordé repeated with a giggle. “That’s new.”

“Good, I didn’t want to be like her other suitors.”

“Oh, do you want to know about them?” Eirtaé asked with a wicked gleam in her eye, and Padmé hissed, baring her fangs. 

“Don’t you  _ dare _ .”

“I would love to, yes, thank you, Eirtáe,” Anakin accepted, not minding his girlfriend’s displeasure.

“Well, then we’ll start with the Venetian artist who wanted to use her as a model for Venus.”

“I need a drink,” Padmé groaned.

“I can understand his thoughts,” he smirked. “What century was he from?”

“Seventeenth. We were in Venice, attending Carnival, and he saw her at a masquerade. Followed us home, begging to preserve her beauty for all time. Sabé took a drink from him, then compelled him to forget her while he was still reeling from the high.”

“Sabé has been your bodyguard for a long time now, hasn’t she?” Anakin shook his head. “You know, I think she’s jealous of me,” he quipped.

“Don’t be absurd!” Padmé blushed. “Sabé’s had plenty of lovers in the last five hundred years, why on earth would she be jealous of people pursuing me?”

“I’m not saying she’s in love with you. Because if she was, she had five hundred years to make her move, she missed her mark. No, what I’m saying is that she’s jealous that you give attention to people that aren’t in your coven. Other men, or women, that are not part of your inner circle. That’s why she can’t stand me. She knows  _ I’m  _ the real deal,” he said smugly.

“Ani, I’m begging you, please don’t rub this in her face while we’re here.” Padmé groaned as they reached the door to the north tower and she took back their bags from Cordé.

“If she confronts me, I will have no other option. I’m not afraid of her. I won’t be,” he replied.

“I’m not saying to be afraid of her, but I love you both. I’d hate for the two of you to be at each other’s throats all weekend. To say nothing of the future.”

“She’s going to have to put up with me for a long time, so she might as well get used to it and we clear the air from the beginning.”

“Okay.” Padmé hoisted the bags over her shoulder, pushing open the door. “I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you,” he said as he took the rest of the bags inside. “This is really cool,” he complimented, looking around.

“Yes, it’s Saché’s family home,” Padmé said as she set her bag on the bed and unzipped it, pulling out the burgundy dress for the evening’s party. “She and Yané went through a lot of trouble to get it, and keep it maintained and updated throughout the centuries.”

“But I see it still maintains its original beauty, which it’s always a great plus,” he smiled, unzipping the bag with his suit. “I really liked meeting all the girls. They are all very sweet.”

“Yes, they are,” she agreed. “But you also have the added benefit of being the baby. In that you’re young and shiny and new, and they think you’re adorable.”

Anakin laughed. “I guess, if they see through that perspective. I’m barely two months old. Babies tend to be very adorable by this time. And also the only male in the coven?” He raised his eyebrows. 

“They won’t try to sleep with you.”

He snorted. “Why? Would you let them even if they tried?”

“Not if you’re still my boyfriend.”

“ _ If  _ I’m still your boyfriend? Why? Am I only your fledgling now?” Anakin frowned as he sat on one of the armchairs by the windows.

“I meant that if you suddenly decided you had a taste for blondes, I’d be devastated, but I wouldn’t stand in the way of you and Eirtaé.”

“That’s an awesome way to have an open relationship,” he said dryly, and picked up his suit. “I’m going to change.”

“Ani, you know I love you. And I want you to be happy, that’s all.”

“I just… I can’t believe you still have doubts. I just can’t,” he turned and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

“I don’t have doubts!”

“To me, you sound like you have,” he scoffed from inside the bathroom and she could hear him undressing.

“I was teasing!” she protested, stripping off her jeans and sweater and pulling on the dress.

“Five hundred years and your  _ teasing  _ still needs to be polished. You sound too serious when you tease people.”

“I’ll work on it. You  _ are _ my first boyfriend, love. There’s a learning curve.”

Anakin opened the door, already dressed in black pants, shirt and dress shoes, but with a red velvet blazer that perfectly matched her dress. “I know we’re working on moving to the same level we were before you turned me, but our relationship is solid and I don’t like hearing you speak about it, as if it wasn’t.”

“It won’t happen again,” she promised as she reached up to fix his collar. “You look wonderful, by the way.”

He leaned down to peck her lips. “So do you, Angel.”

“I can’t wait to see how you top this tomorrow. Now then,” she paused to do up the buttons on the front of her dress. “Pass me my shoes and let’s go join the party.”

“I have some tricks up my sleeve, couldn’t leave you looking bad to your family,” he smiled as he grabbed her heels and passed them on to her. “This reminds me of Kitster’s engagement party. Remember? The first serious outing with my friends after we got together.”

“I remember. Everyone was staring at me in disbelief, I think they thought you’d made me up.”

“You never went to any of our weekly lunches, and that was a ritual of passage to any new member of our group,” he paused. “Now I know why, but it made them believe I was dating an escort or something.”

“And I suppose it didn’t help that I showed up at the party wearing couture?”

“Your dress was a success… better than Teckla’s,” he shook his head, amused. “She was impressed and a big miffed at the same time.”

“Thankfully, it gave me an excuse not to come to the wedding.”

“We wouldn’t want you to upstage the bride,” he kissed her forehead. “I was kind of sad, though, that you didn’t go. I get  _ why  _ now, but it was difficult for me in the beginning to understand why we couldn’t do half of the things as any other couple would.”

“You have no idea how many searches I did for Solar Amulets after I met you.”

“I imagine,” he sighed. “But we’re the same now, it doesn’t matter if we have the Amulets or not.”

“I know.” She sighed and pulled out her angel collar necklace, slipping it around her throat. “Shall we?”

Anakin offered her his arm. “Yes.”

* * *

After the rehearsal was done, Anakin left Padmé to catch up with her sisters as he went to the bar and asked for a strong drink. He still had much to learn about vampire tradition, and while most of it was archaic, he had to admit, the bond for eternity was a huge responsibility, more so than a marriage. Until death do us part was on a figurative side, most of the time, this… this was on the literal side of things.

While most of the coven had gathered around Saché and Yané, gossiping about the ceremony tomorrow, Sabé was hanging by the blood-filled punchbowl, a cup in her hand as she glowered.

“You should look a bit happier for your sisters, shouldn’t you?” Anakin commented.

“I am overjoyed for Saché and Yané.”

“Clearly, he’s written all over your face,” he quipped sarcastically, sipping on his drink.

“Don’t act like you’re a part of this coven.”

“I didn’t say I was part of the coven. Not so soon anyways. But Padmé is and if you haven’t heard…” he gave her a grin that clearly showed his fangs, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“That doesn’t make you one of us,” she snapped. “Tomorrow, Saché and Yané drink from one another. They bind themselves together for eternity, an eternity none of us asked for. But you were planning on asking something else of Padmé, weren’t you?”

Anakin glowered at her. “What I meant to ask her is irrelevant now.”

“It’s not. You have forever, and you need to consider how to use it.”

“I just turned, Sabé, so I don’t know what I’m going to do with forever just yet.” 

“She could have burned for you. If you hurt her, I’ll ensure you burn for it.”

“I did not force her to stay with me,” he pointed out. “She could have left at any time. She could have let me die in that crash, instead of revealing her nature and bringing me into this world. I know you’re trying to protect her, but you don’t have to. Not from me.”

“Yes, I do. Because she is one of the most intelligent women ever to walk this earth, and yet when it comes to you, she loses all sense of judgment and self-preservation. She  _ loves _ you, and for someone like Padmé, that means she’s given you the power to destroy her.”

“You believe I will?” He asked, eyes flashing.

“I don’t know if you will, but it’s  _ not _ a chance I want to take.”

“You’ve been protecting her for centuries, maybe now you can let me take on that job because I love her. My turning wasn’t easy on either of us, but I’m getting to a point where I have completely accepted it,” Anakin stated. “How can I not? My mom’s a witch. My mentor’s a vampire. She’s the love of my life and I will never do anything to hurt her,” he paused. “You’re important to her. So, I would like us to get along.”

“Love of your life means something different now, Skywalker, don’t use that phrase if you aren’t willing to back it up.”

Anakin’s shoulders dropped. “What do you want from me, Sabé? Really, what?”

“I think I’ve made it clear what I want,” she snapped. “Apparently, you’re too dense to grasp it.” Before he could get another word in, she stormed off.

He gaped at her back. “Bitch,” he muttered under his breath, annoyed at the attitude he received.

“Anakin!” Saché called. “Come over here and tell us more about you, Padmé’s using the powder room.”

He smiled, and indulging the woman, he joined the rest of Padmé’s sisters. “I don’t know what Padmé told you already.”

“Oh, tell us anything she’d be embarrassed about,” Yané teased. “We so rarely have the upper hand on her.”

Sabé, meanwhile, had made her way to the powder room, where Padmé stood by the sink, glowering coldly. “How dare you?” she demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sabé shrugged.

“You had no right to speak to Anakin like that.”

“I don’t trust him. He’s young and he’s a millennial. You can’t trust him with your life, Padmé, or your eternity. What’s to say he’ll stick around?”

“That’s _ my _ call to make, Sabé, not yours. Can’t you be happy for me while I’m happy? And happy for our sisters? Must you see danger in everything?”

Sabé shook his head. “If I don’t do it, neither of you will. You’re so caught up in a fantasy, in a dream, that you forget to see the dangers this world presents to you.” 

“I am dealing with the consequences!”

“You shouldn’t have turned him,” Sabé protested. “Not until he knew the truth. He might have a breakdown somewhere down the line.”

“He was  _ dying _ . I didn’t have a choice!”

She sighed, crossing her arms. “You should have never left London for New York. I always had a bad feeling.”

“Maybe you’re right, but I can’t exactly time travel, now can I?” Padmé snapped, baring her fangs at her sister. “Anakin is staying in my life, Sabé. If he chooses to leave me someday, then so be it, but if you try to meddle in our relationship again, I swear, it will be the last time I ever speak to you.”

“Because of a man?” Sabé scowled. “Who’s more of an infant, compared to what we already went through?!”

“I love him, and if you were really my sister, you would not try so hard to spoil the happiness I feel with him. He’s done  _ nothing  _ to merit your hatred.”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt, that's all!

“And you didn’t stop to think that maybe  _ you’re _ hurting me?”

“What’s so special about that kid?” Sabé sighed. “I don’t see the appeal.”

“He was real,” Padmé sighed as she leaned against the wall, smiling slightly. “We grew up with the artifice of courtiers, and we spent centuries seeing all the ways people try to be something they’re not. Anakin was never anything except himself. Earnest, sweet, a little awkward, but unrelentingly honest and genuine.”

“You make him sound like Prince Charming,” Sabé pointed out. “No one’s that perfect,” she pursed her lips. “You really love him? The knock-off Ken from Barbie?”

“I wouldn’t have turned him if I didn’t. Can you trust me? Please? I swear, I know what I’m doing.”

Sabé nodded with a frustrated sigh. “Oh, I’m going to regret this!”

“Or maybe I’ll be saying ‘I told you so’ in a few centuries.’”

“I’ll dismember him.”

“Absolutely not.”

“If he hurts you? I will,” she warned with a grin. “Come on, let’s join them before your boyfriend tells them every single embarrassing story he has of you so far.”

Padmé groaned. “You’re right. Although there’s probably enough of them that he hasn’t finished yet.”

"And yet you still want to be with him."

"More than un-life itself."


	5. The Start of Our Forever

“You got her to come around, then?”

“I got her to relax a little, but I think she still resents you,” Padmé admitted from behind the changing screen. “I’m not magic, unfortunately.”

“Thank God, we don’t live in the same city,” he snorted.

“Don’t be so sure, I think she might be plotting to break her streak and come to New York so she can stalk Qui-Gon while Qui-Gon stalks me.”

Anakin groaned as he dressed his blazer. It was black with golden, swirly designs all over it. “Don’t these people have anything else to do with their time?”

“Absolutely not, all of us have had five hundred years to cultivate our inheritances like dragon hoards,” Padmé laughed

Anakin shook his head. “Honestly. There are other hobbies.”

“Darling, there’s only so long you can do embroidery before the sight of a needle makes you want to scream. And that was the only hobby women were allowed to have for a  _ very _ long time.”

“Something other than stalking would do fine!” He scoffed, placing his cufflinks on his shirt sleeve.

“Would you rather she be stalking you instead of Qui-Gon?” Padmé emerged from the screen as she stuck a few pins into her coiled hair. “Well? What do you think?” She spun around to let the sheer black fabric of her skirt fan out. The dress had its own golden embroidery to match Anakin’s suit, popping against the black one-piece she was wearing beneath it. 

Anakin beamed at her. “You look fantastic, Angel,” he leaned down to kiss her softly. “Really, really, stunning.”

“Thank you.” She leaned into the kiss for a moment before pulling away. “But we should really get going before we’re late. Plenty of time for you to appreciate the dress later.”

“It will be appreciated alright. On the floor.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Only with you,” he kissed the corner of her lips. She took his hands and raised them to her lips for one last, lingering kiss.

“To be continued, my love. Tonight is for Yané and Saché.”

“I’ll hold you on to that!” They walked from their room to the great hall that had been decorated with candles and banners of red and white silk. Everyone but the women of the hour had already gathered, their long dresses forming a rainbow as they waved Padmé into the fold.

“Anakin, will you be joining the circle?” Cordé asked as she poured something from a pitcher into a cup that he could have sworn he’d seen in an  _ Indiana Jones _ movie.

He heard about the circle the night before and shook his head. “No, not this time. It’s very personal, and you all just met me. Another binding, perhaps, but I’ll just watch tonight.”

“Another binding,” Dormé repeated with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows, causing Rabé, Eirtaé, and Cordé to giggle while Sabé rolled her eyes. Anakin blushed at their implication.

“Shall we begin?” Padmé prompted regally, ignoring her friends’ obvious hints. “Eirtaé, Rabé, with me. Sabé, Dormé, Cordé, you on the other side.” They fell in step with her commands, each forming half a circle as Saché and Yané entered from opposite sides of the hall, each dressed in white. Saché’s gown was a loose peasant-style, with ballooning linen sleeves, cream embroidery, and a belt cinching the waist, while Yané wore an unembellished sheath dress that hugged every curve of her body. When they reached each other in the middle, the circle closed ranks around them.

“We drink of one cup as one coven, in celebration of our sisters who seal their bond this night,” Cordé said, taking a sip from the jewel-encrusted gold chalice before passing it to Rabé The cup made its way around the circle, then was passed into Yané’s hands, who held it level as she and Saché drank at the same time, then lowered it to the ground.

As the pair joined hands, Padmé produced a deep red ribbon and wrapped it around their wrists. “We commemorate the ties which have brought you to this moment and hold you fast to each other,” she recited. 

Rabé and Dormé moved forward, pulling Yané and Saché’s hair away from their necks as Sabé spoke. “With the binding of your blood, may your lives become one, forever bonded by the love between you two.”

“And may it grow with each day of eternity,” Eirtaé finished. Moving in tandem, Yané and Saché opened their mouths, their fangs growing long as they pierced each other’s flesh and seemed to merge into a single being. The hands that weren’t tied together wrapped around their waists and one of them moaned slightly— not in pain, but in pleasure, as the embrace deepened. Anakin could smell their blood in the air, and moreover, he smelled the way it changed the longer it went.

When at last they separated, Saché licked her fingers, running them against the bitemarks on Yané’s neck to seal the wounds. “Love of my life, you have drunk of my blood, and now we are as one.”

“Light of my days,” Yané said tenderly as she repeated the gesture, “you have cleaved unto my core, and I will never be without you.” They came together again, this time for a passionate kiss on the mouth as their sisters applauded.

Anakin joined in the applause, mesmerized by the intensity of their ceremony. He wasn’t expecting this. It was so special, so private. He almost felt like he had to look away to give them the privacy of their intimate moment. 

As the circle broke apart, Padmé moved to his side and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” he agreed. “Intense too.”

“I’ve heard that severings and ascensions are even more dramatic,” she gossiped as Cordé started playing some of her club mixes and the others started dancing. “But I’ve never seen one of those in person.”

“I never asked. What is an ascension? I know the severing part.” Obi-Wan and Padmé had both made passing mentions of it, and how it broke the bond between sire and fledgling for executions.

“Ascension is a way the Council can grant a vampire further powers, like flight or metamorphosis,” Padmé explained as she pulled him into the dancing, spinning under his arm. “I’m sure Obi-Wan’s had one, you should ask him about it.”

“Hmm, I will when we get home. You never had the need to ascend or is it only allowed to the Council and its Representatives?”

“I never really thought about it enough to get more information,” she admitted. “Why, are you thinking about it now?”

“Nothing really, just curious about what other traditions are out there,” he shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’m not searching for ways to be the most powerful vampire out there. I really don’t want that.”

“Good, because then there’d probably be a hundred women hounding you for the chance to be your Grand Vampire Empress. And I’d be  _ very _ annoyed.”

Anakin laughed. “You’re all the  _ Grand Vampire Empress  _ I need, my love.”

“Exactly what I like to hear.”

* * *

“Well, that all sounds lovely,” Shmi nodded as she continued to eat her dinner. “I’m glad the two of you had a good time.”

“Yes, I’m really happy I went and got to be present for it,” Anakin said and sipped his wine.

“And I’m happy that you did, but I also have a surprise for you now that you’re back.” She slid two boxes, one long and skinny, one square, across the table to him. “I heard back from my old sister-witches.”

Anakin stared at the two boxes, mouth open. “Are those… is that… is it what I think it is?”

“Solar Amulets.” His mother opened the skinny box to display a plaited leather cord with a gold bead in the middle. “One for you,” she paused to open the second box, “and one for Padmé.” The engagement ring from three months ago stared up at Anakin, sparkling in the fluorescent light of their dining room.

“You made the ring into a Solar Amulet?” He questioned, surprised as he stared at the ring that he had bought, nearly six months ago, and had stared at every day until the fateful car accident. 

“You wanted to spend your life with her,” Shmi pointed out gently, “and if that’s still true, if you still want that, then the two of you should be able to walk in the sun together.”

He took the ring from the box and stared at it, the diamond sparkling and casting funny shapes in the walls as the light hit it differently. “My life just got a whole lot longer and I don’t know, marriage just seems trivial now,” he said, honestly and the piece of jewelry seemed to mock him. “Don’t get me wrong, I love her. I love her as much as I did before.”

“You don’t  _ have _ to give it to her as an engagement ring.”

“Except it’s exactly what this is,” he placed the ring back in the box and closed it. He took the bracelet and wrapped it around his wrist. “How do you know this actually works?”

“Obi-Wan helped me test them. Do you really think I’m such a terrible mother that I’d put my only son at risk like that?” she asked playfully as she ruffled his hair.

“Of course not,” he grinned and got up, hugging her tightly. “Thank you, mom, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” she said as she hugged him back. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he sat back down. “I’m sorry that grandchildren are officially out of my gifts to you. Remember I used to tease you that you would thank me when you had grandchildren? Can’t really do that anymore.”

“Well, I suppose we can always leave that up to Ahsoka,” she suggested. “Or as time goes on, we’ll tell people  _ you’re  _ my grandson. Or great-grandson. And I’ll just have to keep spoiling you rotten.”

He didn’t smile, just a little move from his lips. “I love your optimism,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I wish I felt like that, it’s just… the most difficult part has been accepting that there are things, like being a father or growing old, that I will never get to do.”

“I know, sweetheart. I made the choice to be with your dad because I wanted those things for myself. And I’ll admit that it’s taken me a while to reconcile everything that’s changed since your transformation, and to mourn for what you’ve lost, but the selfish part of me is just glad that I still have you. And that you have someone you love.”

“You know I’ve been better than that first month, but sometimes I just catch myself listing everything I am going to miss and I just get… sad,” he shrugged. “Walking in the sun is already going to be a perk I’m going to be eternally grateful for, though. Thank you for that.”

“Anything for you, Ani.”

* * *

“Has the Council given you an answer yet?” Padmé asked as she sat in Obi-Wan’s office. “Or are they still sending ink and quill messages by horseback?”

“I received an answer, a few days ago. They are understanding of your situation and have allowed for a severing of your sire bond with Anakin,” Obi-Wan stated.

“Thank goodness,” Padmé let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “It’s been so awkward, I’ve had to watch my language around him so much, just to make certain I don’t accidentally command him.”

“I understand. It will be a relief when you no longer have to worry about that,” he smirked. “Especially when Anakin has told me before, that you can be very bossy. Not in a negative way, mind you.”

“Ugh,” Padmé groaned. “Tell me he didn’t make an innuendo out of it.”

“You know how he is,” he chuckled.

“ _ Wonderful, _ ” She buried her face in her hands. “But never mind that. The severing. Can we start it now?”

Obi-Wan hesitated. “Have you spoken to Anakin about this?”

“No,” she admitted. “I was going to surprise him.”

He nodded. “Then let’s begin. Do you have his blood?” Obi-Wan asked as he moved to close and lock his office door and then he took a painting from the wall by the door, revealing a safe with an old-school combination lock, that he quickly entered. 

Padmé pulled a small vial of red liquid from her purse. “I took it while he was sleeping yesterday,” she said, passing it over to him.

He took a gold goblet with Latin inscriptions along the base and the edge of it, plus a small, but sharp-looking, dagger. Both objects had to be centuries, if not thousands of years old. “Both the goblet and the dagger were enchanted by the first witch as a gift to her beloved, a vampire that wanted to break his sire bond,” he laid the goblet on the table, between him and Padmé and took the vial from Anakin’s blood, spilling it inside. He unfolded a delicate parchment, written in perfect handwritten. “She gave him a spell for him to recite. Wrist,” he asked, extending his hand to her.

“A witch and a vampire,” Padmé echoed as she pushed back her sleeve and extended her arm for Obi-Wan, eyeing the goblet. “Interesting.”

“It’s not unheard of,” he placed her wrist above the goblet. “You probably met them and don’t even know,” Obi-Wan gave her a secretive smile as he placed the blade on top of her vein. “Are you ready?”

“Don’t play coy, Obi-Wan, I  _ am _ friends with Satine. But yes, I’m ready.”

Obi-Wan grinned before clearing his throat and concentrating. As he read the first sentence of the spell, the blade dug into her skin, and with every word he spoke, it moved an inch lower and lower, as her blood began to spill inside the goblet and mingled Anakin’s. Padmé could hear the dripping of her blood, drop by drop, and after a while, she heard it burn. Not hers, but Anakin’s. The more blood dripped from her wrist, the less there was of Anakin’s own. A burning sensation began to creep up her arm and she hissed in pain as Obi-Wan gripped her arm tighter, eyes not moving from the parchment and his lips didn’t stop mouthing the ancient language either.

When he removed the blade and stopped speaking, he took a small vial of translucent liquid and opened it, draining its contents into the goblet. The blood burned until the goblet remained, as if nothing had ever touched it. Padmé collapsed back into the armchair, breathing heavily. “Holy water, always a good touch,” he explained as he passed Padmé a blood bag from his drawer. “It should be done, but only your next interaction with Anakin will say. The enchantment is made so that the sire’s blood burns the fledgling’s, officially breaking the connection. Holy water then burns the sire’s blood, almost as a figurative death, in order to make it final.”

A horrible thought struck Padmé as she drained the pack. “I don’t remember my severing with Palpatine hurting, but I think I was unconscious then. Would Anakin have felt this?”

“This way of severing the sire bond was made by a witch. What the Council used for Palpatine’s severing was different. They drained him, to weaken him and compelled him to enact a ritual that broke the bonds with his fledglings. There were also far more of you,” Obi-Wan tilted his head, grimacing. “It’s impossible to tell. This set was used once or twice and both sire and fledging were present.”

“I’d better get home to him.” Padmé said, licking her arm to seal up the cut. “Thank you, Obi-Wan. Truly. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“You’re welcome. Say hello to Anakin for me,” Obi-Wan waved his goodbye as he started to put the goblet and dagger away, together with the parchment.

“Say hello to Satine for me. And consider suggesting a double date at some point,” she suggested as she gathered up her purse and headed out of the office, back to her townhouse.

“ _ Where were you? _ ” Anakin hissed as she stepped through the door, his eyes darkened to an almost black color. “I’ve been looking all over the fucking town for you! Your phone was off!”

“I was visiting Obi-Wan,” she stammered, dropping her bag in shock.

“I thought you were dead or hurt. Mostly hurt because if you were dead, I would be dead and I was worried  _ sick. _ I was coming here after dinner with my mother, and then I had this crippling pain all over my body and I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it had to be you,” he shouted. “Then I couldn’t find you. Not here. Not at work. Not in any of the places you visit.  _ Nowhere! _ ” 

Padmé moved to take his face in her hands, pressing their foreheads together softly. “About the whole ‘ if you were dead, I would be dead’ part, love,” she said. “That was probably the severing.”

“What severing?” He asked, confused and she could clearly see he was stressed.

“Come sit with me in the living room. Maybe have a drink?” she suggested gently. “I promise I’ll explain everything.

“You just scared me half to my second death,” he scowled and moved inside to the living room. Padmé followed him calmly, pulling a bottle from the minifridge and pouring two shot glasses of blood.

“I petitioned the council for a severing of our bond,” she explained as she passed him a glass and took a seat on the sofa. “I didn’t like the power it gave me over you, the imbalance it created between us.”

“You mean the sire bond?” Anakin asked as he accepted the glass and drained it in one go.

She nodded. “I guess I probably should have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise. And I had no idea that it would hurt. Mine didn’t.”

“Yes, you should have told me,” he mumbled, annoyed. “It’s in no way, a sensation I want to feel again. It was like I was dying all over again.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”

“You have to stop being sorry and start to be honest with me.”

“Deal.”

Anakin sighed and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for doing that for us.”

“It was the least I could do.” She settled against him, pressing a soft kiss to his neck. “Much as I like being the boss in certain scenarios, I hated what the sire bond was like.”

“Ah, Obi-Wan told you?” He snickered and his face was not even ashamed.

“Babe, don’t ruin the mood,” she scolded.

He laughed, pulling away. “Alright, I guess I owe you one. The sire bond really wasn’t fun.”

“Well, now it’s no longer a problem, and we’re back on somewhat equal ground. So, now that we’ve cleared the air, what do you want to do tonight?”

“Give you a gift back in return,” he smiled softly.

“Is that a euphemism? Or do you actually have something to give me?” Standing up, he went to his jacket on the other chair and took out a box. It was different from the original one he had bought, so she had no way of knowing what it was. Anakin returned to his seat and slid the box into the seat between them. Looking at him quizzically, Padmé lifted the lid and gasped.

“Ani, is this what I think it is?”

“Maybe, maybe it’s more than that.”

“I’m torn between asking you to explain what you mean by that and wanting to give you an answer to the proposal thing.”

“When we returned from Vermont, I gave the ring to my mother, because I couldn’t stand what it represented,” he explained and then paused, looking at the diamond. “She turned it into a Solar Amulet. She made me this bracelet,” he showed her the new accessory on his wrist. “The ring… she made for the woman that I love and that I want to spend my life with. I don’t consider it an engagement ring, that became trivial for me,” he shrugged, sadly. “ But, I do know it has been five hundred years since you saw the sun.”

“It’s an amazing gift,” she admitted, leaning in to give him a long, sweet kiss. “I love it. And I love you.”

He tilted his head. “I sense a ‘but.’”

“But I would have said yes to a proposal if that was what you were going for anyway. It could be fun if we got to have a daytime wedding with your friends and family.”

Anakin pursed his lips, looking down at the ring. “I don’t want to get married because ‘it could be fun’, it’s a commitment that took a completely different meaning after my change. And if we were to do it, we would have to get married at night. Because of your sisters.”

“I’m serious about that commitment too,” she said earnestly. “I know how many things have changed, but my sisters would understand that this would be for you and the people you love who don’t know about us. And just to have that experience.”

“I guess it can be something we plan,” he nodded. “Everyone will see the ring and jump to conclusions anyway, so, it’s a good way to get everyone together.”

“We can say it’s a long engagement. Or anything else you want. It’s your call, love.” She pressed her lips to his cheek, and then against his mouth. “I’m happy as long as I’m with you.”

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Anakin agreed. “The goal of the ring is for you to walk in the sun, so, it’s yours to enjoy.”

“Then I think you better call your friends anyway. I’m  _ way _ overdue for lunch with them.”

Anakin laughed. “I’ll text Ahsoka in the morning and she’ll figure it out.”

“Morning, huh? Long time till then. Hours and hours to fill.”

“I think we can find something to occupy ourselves with,” he smirked.

“Do tell.”

“I think I would rather show you,” he stood up and grabbed her hand, tugging her towards the bedroom. Padmé laughed, and in all the centuries of her existence, she had never felt happier.


End file.
